SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) – Another San Francisco small business is facing uncertain times.
The owner of the once-popular “Blades Co. Barbershop” says before the pandemic they had a bustling business on Columbus Avenue near the Financial District. Now, they’re trying to raise money to survive.
The owner says the Financial District’s slow resurgence is really hitting her business hard. She says she and her staff are seeing a fraction of the customers they saw before the pandemic, and they’re not sure how much longer they can hang on without help.
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“We kind of miss the way it used to be before COVID. We were really popular and we have plenty of clients but the situation changed right after COVID,” said barber Jorge Flores.
Flores has been cutting hair at the barbershop for the past seven years. He says the slow post-COVID resurgence in the Financial District has left seats empty and made the future uncertain.
“Not enough people going back into the office has hurt the business a lot,” he said.
Blades Co. is now turning to online fundraising to stay afloat. It’s something owner Susan D’Arcangelo never thought she would need to survive.
“It’s probably one of the hardest things I’ve experienced in my life – the setback from COVID. And people may think it’s over, but it’s not over for us,” she said.
The turbulent times at the San Francisco shop follow a recent and painful decision to close the location in Walnut Creek. Plans to expand to the Mission Rock development near Oracle Park also fell through.
“That is probably one of the most devastating things because that would’ve put us on the map and it would’ve gotten us out of this mess, but I couldn’t hold on,” D’Arcangelo said.
The online effort has a lofty goal of raising $100,000, a number D’Arcangelo says could help solve some of Blades Co.’s problems. Her concern is that FiDi might not return to the business-friendly place it once was, leaving her shop in jeopardy.
“The GoFundMe is our last hope of keeping the doors open and staying alive,” she said.
D’Aarcangelo says the barbershop is like family and they’re going to hold out as long as they can. As of Wednesday night, the fundraising effort was up to more than $3,600.
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