Have you had a good or bad experience at a local business recently? Tell us about it
It’s no secret that the pandemic was extremely hard on small, local businesses that help fortify the core of local economies. Many places have closed down over the last few years, while others have survived and some new ventures have opened.
A 2022 report from the Federal Reserve found that a record 330,000 U.S. establishments closed during the second quarter of 2020. Business woes continued into 2021, where unemployment rates continued to surge during the first half of the year before slowly tapering off into 2022, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
It can be difficult to know what to expect when going out to enjoy local food, entertainment and shopping. Have the prices gone up noticeably? Are there new owners? Has the quality you once knew as a customer gone downhill? Did a new and exciting business open that you haven’t tried yet?
We want to hear about your experiences with local businesses – both good and bad – over the last three months. You don’t have to identify yourself, but regardless, we won’t publish respondents’ names. We will use the feedback and comments you share with us to take a closer look and report back in a future article.
This story was originally published June 26, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
