SEATTLE — Some businesses in Pioneer Square say they'd like to see both short and long-term changes to ensure more sustainable business year-round, and more of a share of the wealth when big events come to town.
They're recommending more integrated activations during events, investment by the city in housing -- especially at workforce rates, a filling of vacant spaces and accountability for the condition of vacant properties, better media representation of their neighborhood, and attention to addressing homelessness and safety issues in a holistic way.
Sales slow during big event
Similar to the Chinatown International District businesses that say the sales they expected during MLB All-Star Week didn't come through, businesses OHSUN Banchan Deli & Cafe, Luigi's Italian Eatery & Cafe and Underbelly say they were told to expect a lot more foot traffic that week, but sales were actually the same or worse.
"Being a new business in the Square I first didn't know how to prepare because I've heard buzz before about like, when events happen it's kind of unpredictable, but with this event in particular, there was a lot of chatter of making sure we all needed to prepare for this big wave of people, that no matter what, everyone is going to flourish because it's just a numbers game, there's so many people coming into the square," OHSUN Owner Sara Upshaw said.
Upshaw was skeptical so while she prepared, she didn't buy a lot more inventory or change staffing significantly. She says as a result, they didn't suffer as much -- but also didn't make much money. The week was kind of a normal service week, and the next week was "abysmal." Luigi's owner Angela Williams says her restaurant was luckily bought out, but Underbelly says it overprepared for a week that underdelivered.
"We decided to open at 11 a.m. to try and catch some of the earlier crowd rather than 4 p.m. which is our standard, we had to have double the staff, we were like nobody can leave out of town, we need all hands on deck- and it was just a complete bomb...maybe one or two customers in the daytime," said Underbelly owners Rachel and Joe Wilcox. "We expected a minimum of Mariners traffic, but it was worse than usual. It was frustrating."
Event-based changes
All of the business owners say there are some changes they'd like to see- both in regards to big events, and in relation to the treatment of Pioneer Square as a whole- to ensure that the local small businesses that help shape perceptions of Seattle for visitors are also able to thrive and build community.
As for big events, Upshaw suggests that organizers and the city work more closely with nearby businesses, planning pop-ups, activations and activities that bring event attendees directly through doors or nearby.
"Having it specific to this neighborhood, pointing people to and getting people into the doors of the businesses, that's the most important thing," Upshaw said. "Having the marketing and media and whatnot, but also having the people that actually own the businesses be able to give their voices so we can prepare people better."
Long-term investments
In general, she'd like to see more resources and life invested into the neighborhood year-round so it's not as hard to adjust when big events come around. That includes a filling of vacant storefronts, potentially through city programs- and, as Williams suggests, through making sure landlords take care of those spaces.
"I feel like the square has been forgotten by the city, that there isn't a whole lot of effort put into [Pioneer Square], where in any other town or city you go into, the historic district is typically one of the jewels of the city," said Williams, who is running the restaurant to carry on her late husband's legacy. "[It would be good to make] landlords be more responsible regarding empty spaces. We just came out of the pandemic and a lot of people are not aware that we're back up and functioning."
Williams, Upshaw and the Wilcoxes also all see benefits to adding more residential housing in Pioneer Square, especially workforce-friendly housing. Currently, most of their income comes from event-based traffic, and day-to-day sales are unpredictable and unsteady.
"We may be a neighborhood of businesses but it's hard to sustain that without being a true neighborhood of residents," Williams said.
Joel Wilcox suggests zoning changes to create more of a residential presence, incentives to bring more housing to the neighborhood, and encouraging current landlords who own vacant lots to start renting to businesses that would build.
"We have so much neighborhood here already," Wilcox said. "We live and work in our neighborhood, we know our neighbors, if we need help, you can find somebody. If we run out of this, call somebody next door and they'll have it to us. We are that kind of neighborhood."
Safety, homelessness and public perception
Rachel Wilcox says the city does need to invest more to help get people off the streets in Pioneer Square and connected with housing. She notes that they have had safety concerns for their employees, and want to see attention paid to solving those problems. But Joel also says the problems exist elsewhere in Seattle -- and they don't want to fuel false perceptions about Pioneer Square. They live, work in and love the neighborhood -- and say many people don't understand its vibrancy.
"Pioneer Square, we have problems the rest of Seattle has with homelessness, drug addiction, yes, it's here, but it's everywhere in Seattle and it's no worse in Pioneer Square," Wilcox said. "The perception people have of Pioneer Square in Seattle and surrounding areas is not realistic and it's been a negative perception that's lasted for years."
Williams shares the sentiment, taking issue with media reports she says have painted the neighborhood as steeped in crime and unsavory for visitors. She wants people to visit for themselves and learn of its vibrancy.
"It's very eclectic down here and it's so multicultural, you have real Indian, you have real vegan, you have great bars, you have real Korean- it's a great, great neighborhood," Williams said.
Business support
Overall, businesses say the past few years have been full of unpredictability and they hope local residents will come out to support them and keep them afloat- all year round.
"There's a lot of assumption that everyone's just doing fine, we have a lot of tourists coming in, we have a lot of people coming into the city," Upshaw said. "But every dollar you spend at a small business goes far- and it really is [crucial] for us to be able to keep our doors open."