What businesses need is foot traffic and less red tape – not new mandates from an unelected body.
As an entrepreneur with a background in construction and interior design, two years ago I followed my passion and dream to open a flower shop just two blocks north of Minneapolis’ Uptown neighborhood.
I chose to open my business in Minneapolis because it’s home. In the not-too-distant past, our city boasted a vibrant small business ecosystem and loyal patrons who came from local neighborhoods and across the metro to support their favorite local shops. Despite my deep love for our city, some of our neighborhoods, notably Uptown, have taken a turn for the worse.
The collapse of the Uptown neighborhood has been well publicized. The neighborhood — once vibrant and one of the most popular parts of the city — has been deserted. Shuttered businesses and limited foot traffic serve as daily reminders.
The neighborhood’s decline has been caused by a combination of both uncontrollable forces and questionable policy decisions. The pandemic crippled the retail industry and mainstays of the neighborhood closed. Restaurants felt the effects of the reduced foot traffic as they saw fewer patrons. The pandemic also ushered in the work-from-home era, which, despite Uptown’s limited office space, played a role in the diminished foot traffic.
On the other hand, there have been multiple examples of detrimental policy from City Hall — and, unfortunately, they show no signs of slowing down.
At a time when businesses are reaching out for support from City Hall, the proposed Labor Standards Board would do the opposite. Minneapolis restaurants have rightfully been extremely vocal in their opposition. However, this proposal will affect every small business in every industry, and it’s time that we speak up, too.
If the plan passes, the board would be constructed with 15 unelected members charged with dictating how small businesses run their companies. New mandates, developed by an unelected body and pushed through a City Council that has proven they do not understand our businesses, could be detrimental to our collective success. Small business owners care deeply about our employees, and we do not need to see our operating decisions co-managed by a new board.
Pushing forward with this new board is just another example of the city’s decisions threatening our survival. Any small business owner will tell you they have felt the negative impacts of construction delays reducing foot traffic. Additionally, parking mandates and decisions that otherwise reduce accessibility to storefronts make it more difficult for customers to reach us and have a real impact on our bottom lines. Customers who come from cities outside Minneapolis are rightfully disincentivized from stopping in my local flower shop when their suburban, corporate flower shop is a five-minute drive away and offers plenty of parking.
Despite these factors, my business and the businesses of my colleagues remain. We believe that Uptown and the surrounding area can be revitalized.
But the clock is ticking. While the mayor and City Council suggest ideas to jump-start the community, businesses face tighter bottom lines and move closer toward closure.
What Uptown — and, more generally, Minneapolis small businesses — need right now is support, not more obstacles. Programs that bring back foot traffic, reduce unnecessary red tape and encourage local investment would do far more to help workers and business owners than the heavy-handed measures proposed by the Labor Standards Board.
The mayor’s proposed “Downtown Action Plan” highlights exciting ideas to revitalize downtown Minneapolis. However, with this new board looming, this could very well be just another example of “one step forward, two steps back.”
At the end of the day, our neighborhoods and cities are stronger when small businesses succeed. If the City Council is serious about improving workers’ rights and conditions, it should start by creating an opportunity to hear public testimony regarding the LSB and enforce our existing, strong employee protection laws. We all want what’s best for our employees because we know they are essential to our success.
The opportunity to revitalize Uptown is becoming bleaker with each passing day. It is imperative that the next major policy decision help the neighborhood’s business climate — not further us from our shared goals. I’d urge our City Council to reconsider the proposed Labor Standards Board.
Andrea Corbin is the owner of Flower Bar, a small business in Minneapolis.
This article first appeared on MinnPost and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
