Thread by @NBCNews

Businesses owners have noticed a change in Surfside since the condo collapsed nearby. A typically bustling area, downtown has become quiet and business has slowed.

Reporting by @PhilMcCausland

#NBCNewsThread (1/9) nbcnews.to/3ijz8sV

@PhilMcCausland The slowdown comes after one of the most economically devastating periods for small businesses in the nation’s history. The pandemic brought many locally owned shops and restaurants to their knees or forced entrepreneurs to take on long-term loans to keep afloat. (2/9)

@PhilMcCausland After the Champlain Towers South collapse, authorities had to lock down a large perimeter to ensure that people didn’t get too close to the site. They also needed room to store emergency vehicles and construction equipment for the digging work that continues there. (3/9)

@PhilMcCausland The closures have further slowed traffic in the area located on a narrow strip of land connected to Florida’s coast by a series of bridges and small islands, making it a challenge for customers, residents and business owners to easily reach Surfside’s downtown. (4/9)

@PhilMcCausland Still, many businesses worked together in the aftermath to provide meals to first responders and aid for those affected by the building’s collapse. (5/9)

@PhilMcCausland “Everybody knows somebody that was in that tower. Maybe not directly, but your best friend knows this person or your husband’s family knows that person. It’s been very emotional…It’s devastating,” Emily Wands, a business owner, said. (6/9)

@PhilMcCausland Relief for the business district, however, is not coming quickly. The summer months are an off-season for the Miami Beach area, so economic activity was already at a low point. But the building collapse and street shutdowns have made the district turn even quieter. (7/9)

@PhilMcCausland While the Small Business Administration reports that it has received 57 applications from businesses in Miami related to the condo collapse as of Thursday, some owners here said they weren’t interested in going further into debt. (8/9)

@PhilMcCausland “We just got back up on our feet from Covid and this just kind of slammed us right back down,” Wands said. “What the SBA is offering is great, but we’re still paying back loans that we got for the pandemic. We want grants, and they don’t do that.” (9/9)