Burlington businesses sound the alarm over declining foot traffic, sales

BURLINGTON, Vt. (WCAX) – Many Burlington businesses report a decline in revenues this summer amid an array of struggles downtown.

Store owners are often reluctant to say business is bad for fear it will make the situation worse. But many are frustrated over declining revenues caused by visitors’ concerns about public safety and an exodus of downtown workers.

The situation is prompting businesses to hit the panic button and ask people to shop locally because they are worried about closing.

“I think it’s been really easy to walk around and explore and just pop in spots,” said Alex Small, a visitor from Ventura, California.

Tourists and local residents alike shopped and dined on Church Street on a warm, sunny Friday. It’s the lifeblood of the downtown economy.

But one longtime shop on Church Street says business has not been good this summer. Sales at Dear Lucy are down 34% compared to last year.

“When I started to really review things, I was like, ‘Oh my, god.’ Like times are tough,” owner Melissa Desautels said.

So Desautels took to social media this week and posted a plea to customers, saying, “We are sure you have been reading the headlines about the challenges downtown, witnessed yourself or heard from friends.”

Those challenges include crime, open drug use and other bad behavior. Desautels says seeing or hearing about that behavior has caused people not to come downtown.

“This has been my life and I want to, like, stick it out, and I want to have this work, but I need the city and the state to work with me, too, and understand where we’re at,” Desautels said.

Kelly Devine of the Burlington Business Association says other merchants have also reported disappointing summers. She says Burlington is at an inflection point with a lack of office workers and inflation impacting businesses. But she says public safety is the biggest concern.

“The experience of coming downtown to go shopping for women’s clothing, or, you know, whatever you’re shopping for, is not as fun. It doesn’t feel the same as it used to, and people make decisions with their feet and their pocketbook,” Devine said.

The mayor’s office says it is working to address public safety with increased enforcement and providing more social services for people struggling with substance abuse and homelessness. They also plan to launch a marketing campaign to remind people how much downtown Burlington has to offer.

“As we’re having some of these community safety issues, we are seeing an economic impact, and I do want to acknowledge that, and I know that consumers have the ability to go other places, whether it’s online or other neighboring towns… If you love your downtown, now’s the time to show that love,” said Kara Alnasrawi of Burlington Business and Workforce Development.

There have been some changes, like posting a sheriff in the parking garage, a common problem area, so that people coming downtown feel safe. But the overwhelming message from everyone I spoke to Friday is that people need to shop downtown and come dowtown to help keep downtown vibrant and businesses open.

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