Pirate's Cove

I hope the Portland businesses don’t think that this is going to end anytime soon, because the mostly white non-peaceable protesters aren’t going away. It’s a real shame, but, you can bet these store owners in this mostly hard left city vote for far left Democrats and had supported the “protesters”

Downtown Portland businesses, derailed by pandemic, say protests present a new challenge

Adam Milne, the owner of Old Town Pizza & Brewing, realized he had to shut down his flagship Portland taproom on July 9 after the business closed out the day with just $18.75 in sales.

As he walked through downtown and saw the boarded-up storefronts and empty streets that day, it was hard for Milne to envision customers returning to his restaurant anytime soon. He knew he couldn’t keep bleeding money by keeping the taproom open.

“I think all restaurants are really hurting and struggling, but I’m not sure if the city and state officials realize that to be a restaurant and to be in downtown Portland right now is a double blow,” Milne said. “Not only are we suffering from the pandemic, but we have an area of the state that everyone is avoiding eating and drinking.”

But downtown Portland business owners say they are facing unique challenges as they try to recover from the economic devastation brought on by the pandemic. Many point to the raucous protests downtown and the controversial federal response, which have put the city atop national headlines.

While most of downtown is tranquil, and nearly all confrontations between protestors and police take place late at night, the nightly protests have given Portland a reputation for upheaval that businesses say is keeping shoppers away.

Office buildings remain empty because of the pandemic and tourists have yet to return, taking away a large customer base for many downtown businesses. More tents have appeared along the sidewalks near downtown as the city has limited cleanups of homeless camps due to the pandemic.

Even before the federal law enforcement folks streamed into Portland to protect the federal Justice Center and federal employees from the attacks by the far left “protesters”, the violence was there. The property destruction.

The peaceful protesters destroyed a Starbucks and a fire was supposedly set. It’s attached to an apartment complex. pic.twitter.com/TOHf7tQNsq

— Jason Rantz on KTTH Radio (@jasonrantz) July 26, 2020

They hit Starbucks again Sunday night. Think the “protesters” care? All the BLM folks, Antifa, anarchists, the Black Bloc, “Moms”, and all the other Progressive (nice Fascism) groups? No. Sacrifices must be made, including among fellow travelers.

Those factors have limited foot traffic in downtown. TriMet says trips downtown are down more than 75% this summer compared to last year. Parking meter transactions are down a similar amount, and traffic into downtown across the Morrison Bridge has fallen 43% compared to last year, according to the Portland Bureau of Transportation.

The decline in hotel occupancy in the central city is the worst in the state, down 73% compared to last year, according to data provided by Travel Portland.

Remember, this didn’t start over the last month when federal police deployed

Thousands of demonstrators took to the streets on the night of May 30 to protest police brutality and systemic racism in the wake of George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police officers. Floyd’s death has ignited a national reckoning, and protesters have returned to downtown Portland every night since that first night in May.

But the night of upheaval ended with break-ins and looting in downtown. Murfitt watched on his live security footage feed as looters trashed his store and police officers failed to intervene. He said officers later came to take his statement and collect security footage, but haven’t been in touch since.

Revolutions need sacrifices, and these people are the sacrifices.