Lizzie Osorio remembers customers flooding Lion Boots in early May, browsing embroidered shoes and tasseled suede dresses.<\/p>\n
Beyonc\u00e9 had four concerts scheduled in Los Angeles at SoFi Stadium for her Cowboy Carter tour. So the store tucked in Santee Alley where 24-year-old Osorio works selling cowboy boots and other Western-style clothing was the perfect stop for fans. <\/p>\n
Osorio expected, or perhaps hoped, the store would see similar traffic at the start of the Thanksgiving holiday week. <\/p>\n
After the tumult of President Trump\u2019s immigration crackdown, that remains to be seen. Over the summer, several raids in the neighborhood sparked protests. But the mass arrests and fears of deportation turned the Fashion District into a ghost town for several weeks after, with storefronts shuttered and frightened workers staying home.<\/p>\n
The story was the same at other business districts that cater to immigrants. Although conditions have improved in recent months, merchants are still feeling the pain and in desperate need of a holiday retail miracle.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Shoppers stroll through The Santee Alley in downtown\u2019s fashion district where business owners are working to recover from losses caused by recent immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n
Local officials and activists are encouraging people to shop on Black Friday and beyond, including holding a festival over the weekend. But it remains unclear how many will feel safe enough to come out.<\/p>\n
Some merchants are \u201cliving sale to sale, customer to customer,\u201d said Anthony Rodriguez, president of the Fashion District\u2019s business improvement district, a private group of property owners in the area. <\/p>\n
\u201cThese aren\u2019t big-box stores. These are family-owned and, in some cases, generational businesses that more than ever need L.A.\u2019s support. If people can come down and just spend $10 to $15 … that\u2019s how we can make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Monday, Osorio said she made just one sale: a pair of utility boots. <\/p>\n
She opened the store at 9:30 a.m. and sold the boots around 2 p.m. They\u2019d been marked down $30 from their typical price of $160 because customers have been so reluctant to spend money, she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are waiting for the good times,\u201d Osorio said. \u201cHonestly, I felt like it was going to be better this week, but it\u2019s been really, really slow. We just pray and keep the faith. Let\u2019s see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
Small businesses in the area \u2014 which includes the historically vibrant, bustling open-air shopping corridor Santee Alley known for bargain prices \u2014 are looking for ways to recoup some of their losses through holiday sales.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Shoppers stroll along The Santee Alley in downtown\u2019s fashion district where business owners are working to recover from losses caused by recent immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n
Foot traffic in the area is back at levels seen before federal immigration raids began in Los Angeles in early June, according to the business improvement district.<\/p>\n
But Rodriguez said traffic fluctuates day-to-day and is \u201cat the mercy\u201d of rumors, at times false, of federal enforcement operations circulated among group chats of merchants and community members. <\/p>\n
Such alerts prompt businesses to shut down at a moment\u2019s notice with \u201cpeople literally running from their stores,\u201d Rodriguez said. He said that, one day, agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service were conducting an investigation in the area and were confused for Customs and Border Protection officers.<\/p>\n
Rodriguez said there are \u201cvery valid reasons\u201d to pay attention to alerts but that minimizing their harmful effects is crucial for economic recovery.<\/p>\n
Visitors to stores and businesses in the Fashion District dropped dramatically in the week or so after the initial raids on June 6. Foot traffic in the Fashion District dropped 33% while visitors to Santee Alley specifically dropped by 50%, according to the business improvement district. <\/a><\/p>\n Rodriguez said it took at least three weeks to recover foot traffic, and even so, vendors are struggling because \u201cpeople are not spending like they used to.\u201d<\/p>\n And the typical holiday boost has yet to make an appearance, Rodriguez said. <\/p>\n \u201cAs of right now, we are not seeing the holiday spike we have seen in previous years,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n In May, the fashion district saw some 1.98 million visits, while in June that number dropped to 1.2 million, according to the group. In September, the district saw 1.3 million visitors, far below the the 1.5 million the area saw in the the same period last year.<\/p>\n The Santee Alley in downtown\u2019s fashion district where business owners are working to recover from losses caused by recent immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n Pop music blared from open doors on Monday afternoon on Santee Street as the light faded. A smattering of storefronts were closed, but most were open, ready to welcome tourists and local families doing their holiday shopping. Clumps of customers gathered. The alley was lively compared to the weeks after the first summer raids.<\/p>\n Maria Fuertes, 43, and her daughter had prowled the area for more than seven hours, since 9 a.m., shopping for outfits for a December wedding. They\u2019d made the more than hourlong trek from Eastvale in Riverside County to look for formal dresses and shoes. Fuertes said she often shops in the area around the holidays and that it \u201cfeels empty\u201d compared to years past.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s kind of creepy and lonely,\u201d Fuertes said. <\/p>\n More than half a dozen businesses in the alley and on Santee Street told The Times their sales remained down after the onslaught of federal immigration raids, with some doing better than others. A lingerie shop saw a dip but not a severe one, with online sales remaining strong. The owner of an accessories store said business was down 30%, while an employee at a jewelry store said business was down 70%. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n