Bill Lutzius sat inside his empty Brooklyn Bar & Grill in City Heights on Tuesday, smoking a cigarette, drinking Dr Pepper and watching an old black-and-white movie through hanging plexiglass.
Refrigerator doors hung open behind the bar, revealing a few scattered cans of beer. The 63-year-old entrepreneur explained that he recently shut them off to save money on electricity when he closed.
Before restaurants were directed to close two weeks ago, save for takeout orders, Lutzius had, like so many in the hospitality business, been operating at a loss.
He had several rationales for staying open during the pandemic, despite hemorrhaging around $10,000 a month. He said he wanted to maintain his customer base and remain a presence in the neighborhood.
However, on a visit this week, it became clear why he was so reluctant to close shop, even though it’s cut his losses in half. The bar has provided not only his livelihood but his community.
“I don’t have any family,” he said. “Well, I have a brother up by Newport Beach, but I don’t see anybody.”
Lutzius sorts through bills while sitting alone at the bar on Tuesday.
(Sam Hodgson / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
As the pandemic enters what could be its cruelest stretch, some businesses in the neighborhood around University and Euclid avenues remain open. But, like the Brooklyn Bar & Grill, many are struggling to survive the winter.
The neighborhood has one of the highest rates of infection across the San Diego region, with more than 4 out of every 100 people testing positive for the coronavirus.
Folks in the area say a malaise has set in around the edges. More people are living on the streets. Graffiti and sanitation issues abound.
“A lot has changed for the worse,” said Tony Huynh, who on Thursday was working at his cell-phone repair shop on University Avenue. “You see people setting up camps, tents, all kinds of stuff, drugs used. It’s bad.”
Later that day around 4 p.m., Barry Filgo, 65, huddled in a tattered sleeping bag on Euclid Avenue. His left eye was swollen shut, the result of a nasty fall at the bus stop, he said.
“I had a roommate, and he threw me about because I couldn’t pay my rent no more,” said Filgo, who recently lost a job as a security guard. “Everybody’s hurting.”
A homeless person sleeps on the ground as an ambulance passes by outside a shuttered nail salon on University Avenue.
(Sam Hodgson / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Business owners in the neighborhood don’t have the costly rents or high overhead that many do in more affluent areas. At the same time, though, they often don’t have deep pockets to weather a prolonged shutdown, said Enrique Gandarilla, executive director of the City Heights Small Business Association
“Everybody understands that we all need to be responsible and careful, but we all need to make a living as well,” he said.
Compounding frustrations has been the county and state’s frequently shifting set of rules and guidelines around how businesses should operate during the pandemic.
Bars may have had it the worst, allowed to open only briefly during the summer before being quickly shut down again.
That’s been tough for The Tower Bar, which closed in July after reopening for just two weeks. Mick Rosller, owner of the storied punk-music venue, was able to strike a deal with his landlord to partially delay rent payments until the bar can start serving customers again. Still, he said, finances are tight.
“We didn’t expect at the time for it to take this long (to reopen), so we’re going to owe him a good chuck of change,” Rosller said.
He’s been spending a lot of time with his family at their nearby house, helping his two girls and stepson with distance learning.
Selling Tower Bar-branded shirts and hats online is helping somewhat, he said. “Just last week, I posted that we have merch and people are being crazy supportive.”
By comparison, local restaurants have had to stomach a rollercoaster of ever-changing rules. Most recently, Gov. Gavin Newsom directed eateries to cease all in-person operations, including outdoor dining. Then, last week, a Superior Court judge issued a ruling that called into question San Diego County’s authority to enforce that new directive. However, the state quickly filed an appeal and the lower-court’s decision was stayed pending the case’s outcome.
Lutzius plans to stay closed for now. He said he can survive on a small business loan that should float him through the summer.
“I will wait a bit to see what happens” before reopening, he said. “The problem is people are not going out in big numbers, so there is no money to be made.”
Brian Rodriguez, 21, who lives a block away with his family, confirmed that. “Street life is pretty much dead,” he said. “It was lively. Now people only come out for necessities.”
Owner Shimeles Kibret works behind the counter with his wife Yetanyet Kibret fielding takeout orders at Red Sea Ethiopian Restaurant.
(Sam Hodgson / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Hibernation is a luxury not available to the neighboring Ethiopian restaurant, Red Sea. Shimeles Kibret, and his wife, Yetanyet Abebe, have struggled for months to keep their nearly 40-year-old business alive by filling takeout orders.
The couple narrowly avoided disaster in August when they secured a $60,000 emergency loan. Most recently, Shimeles said, a outpouring of community support has given him added hope.
Over the last three months, people have been coming from all over San Diego County, from Oceanside to Point Loma, to patronize his traditional Ethiopian eatery. A few people have even left tips of $100 and up.
“All of those guys are helping us,” Shimeles said. “They keep telling us, ‘We need you in business.’”
While his sales have slowed in the last few weeks, he said his landlord has, of late, become more flexible with the rent.
“Hopefully, we’ll see in the next two months that business is going to be OK,” he said. “People keep asking us, ‘When can I come over here and sit down?’”
In the meantime, Shimeles has taken to feeding the many homeless folks that gather on the block after dark.
A delivery driver picks up a takeout order at Red Sea.
(Sam Hodgson / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
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