Small Downtown Businesses Adapt to Fewer Office Workers

Businesses that traditionally serve commuters have had to make adjustments to stay in business as remote work empties out central business districts.

2 minute read

September 20, 2021, 6:00 AM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


An overhead image of a large wooden building as it's being constructed.

Wirestock Creators / Shutterstock

Small businesses in downtowns across the country are struggling to figure out their future as the pandemic wears on and a return to the traditional office seems further and further away, report Mae Anderson and Tom Krisher. "[N]ow that many companies have postponed plans to bring workers back due to a surging number of COVID-19 cases spurred by the Delta variant, downtown businesses are reckoning with the fact that adjustments made on the fly could well become permanent."

"In Lower Manhattan, 224 businesses closed in 2020 and 2021, according to the Alliance for Downtown New York. About 100 have opened." Lyle Richardson, chief operating officer for restaurant operator A. Marshall Hospitality in Nashville and board member for the Tennessee Hospitality Association, says "he has seen the city’s restaurant industry ravaged by the coronavirus epidemic and estimates that hundreds of restaurants have closed."

Some businesses are seeing a shift in customers. At one restaurant in Manhattan, "[t]he clientele has changed from workers to younger people and families from nearby Battery Park City." According to Jorge Guzman, an assistant professor of business management at Columbia University, "the shift of economic activity away from downtowns is likely to last" as entrepreneurs seek cheaper rents and new customer bases. Meanwhile, business owners warily prepare for the fall as new COVID-19 variants continue to disrupt daily life, using lessons learned so far to adjust their business models and stay afloat.

Tuesday, September 14, 2021 in Chicago Sun-Times

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

July 16, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Green vintage Chicago streetcar from the 1940s parked at the Illinois Railroad Museum in 1988.

Chicago’s Ghost Rails

Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.

July 13, 2025 - WTTV

Blue and silver Amtrak train with vibrant green and yellow foliage in background.

Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail

The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.

July 14, 2025 - Smart Cities Dive

Worker in yellow safety vest and hard hat looks up at servers in data center.

Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power

Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.

July 18 - Inside Climate News

Former MARTA CEO Collie Greenwood standing in front of MARTA HQ with blurred MARTA sign visible in background.

MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns

MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.

July 18 - WABE

Rendering of proposed protected bikeway in Santa Clara, California.

Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant

A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.

July 17 - San José Spotlight