By Ishika Bhatia via Immigain
Ever since my freshman year, I’ve gone to Kona Roastery to study or work on projects. The environment is so stimulating and the staff is so sweet and welcoming. Their coffee is even made from coffee beans that are grown in their very own shop!
Talking to the manager, Kaitlyn, made me realize how these smaller businesses have been so deeply impacted. Kona Roastery alone has had to make compromises with landlords and has faced a decrease in sales due to lack of advertising. They have even faced things like changes in the customers’ behavior. Kona roastery is a small family-owned chain. They have their mother shop, Kona Roastery, as well as two other locations called Kona Reserve in Fulshear and Frisco, Texas.
Local businesses in general are struggling, but businesses run by minorities are even more likely to struggle. Research done by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce shows that “The poll finds that two in three (66%) minority small businesses are concerned about having to permanently close their business versus 57% for non-minority small businesses.” Additionally, minority-run businesses face more troubles in securing loans and expect revenue to decrease significantly. These are just some of the many hardships faced by local minority-run businesses.
I know many of us are hesitant to go out during these times, but when we do go out, we need to make sure to support small businesses who are at risk of losing so much more than larger chain businesses. Support local and minority-run businesses, such as those led by women, people of color, members of the LGBTQ community, or even a combination of those and more.
spectrum 