VOA慢速英语2021--市中心的企业为了生存而做出改变

Downtown Businesses Make Changes to Survive

Businesses in the central parts of cities are losing huge profits as a result of the pandemic.

With offices nearby, the businesses used to be filled with workers seeking breakfast, lunch and everyday goods and gifts.

With offices still closed and workers remaining at home, some businesses are adapting to the changed market.

Surviving businesses have taken steps like doing more online sales, changing hours, cutting back workers, or selling new things.

Business owners had looked forward to the return of nearby workers this month as offices reopened. But, as COVID-19 cases rise again, many offices have delayed plans to bring workers back. Now, downtown businesses in the U.S. and overseas wonder if the changes may become permanent.

In the American city of Detroit, Michigan, Mike Frank¹'s dry cleaning business was running out of money.

Frank started Clifford Street Cleaners eight years ago. Before the pandemic, monthly² revenue³ was about $11,000. But by December 2020, it had dropped to $1,800, he said.

Frank had to borrow money from his wife to pay the bills. "I was almost ready to go out of business."

Instead of closing, Frank adapted. He changed part of his store into a small market. Now, he sells all kinds of cleaning products, bottled water, soft drinks and other goods. He also added a delivery⁴ service.

Finally, some foot traffic returned. With the combination⁵ of product sales and dry cleaning, revenue is back up to about $4,100 each month, he said. That is enough to keep the business open. And, he noted⁶, the revenue is increasing each month.

In New York City's Lower Manhattan area, 224 businesses closed their doors in 2020 and 2021. That information is from the Alliance⁷ for Downtown New York. It says about 100 businesses have opened.

Jessica Lappin is president of the organization. "There's no question, it's hard" for business areas, she explained to the Associated Press. "We miss our workers."

Lappin predicts office workers will come back. But it might be two or three days a week, on different days or at different hours.

A block from New York's financial neighborhood, workers would wait in long lines to buy one of the healthy meals from Blue Park Kitchen.

"Things are completely different," owner Kelly Fitzpatrick said.

Online orders now make up 65 percent of the business. Those sales are less profitable⁸, however, because Fitzpatrick has to give a percentage to the app company she uses for online orders. In all, the Blue Park has let nine of its workers go.

Nearby, Aankit Malhotra and his brother took over Benares, an Indian restaurant, in 2019. Most of their customers were bankers. When the pandemic hit, those customers disappeared. No one came in for the $13 lunch special the restaurant was known for. In the past, lunch sales represented 95 percent of the restaurant's business.

Now, Benares has about 10 lunch orders a day, down from 100.

But, also now, business is back to around 70 percent of levels before the pandemic. The brothers established a delivery service and began offering nighttime meals. The customers are now mostly younger people and families who live in the area.

"It's nice to see not just corporate⁹ people downtown," said Malhotra.

Jorge Guzman is an assistant professor of business at New York's Columbia University. He said the move of economic activity away from downtowns will likely continue. But there are new businesses opening in non-downtown areas.

"Downtowns are not going to die, exactly," Guzman said. "But it's going to be a little bit more of a mix, more residential¹⁰ and mixed-use" businesses.

In the British capital of London, office workers have been slowly returning. The government lifted COVID-19 restrictions¹¹ on July 19, as the number of new infections began to drop. Recently, however, cases have been climbing again.

The number of downtown workers is far lower than before COVID.

"It was good, it was busy before the pandemic," said Rado Asatrian. He has worked as a haircutter at a beauty shop in the financial area for six years. Before COVID-19, he usually had 10 to 15 customers a day. Now, he sees three or four a day.

Asatrian said he might move to a busier area, change professions or move overseas.

In some downtowns, tourists are visiting again, helping¹² businesses stay open.

In the U.S. city of Atlanta, Georgia, Kwan's Deli and Korean Food has almost as much summer business as it did before the pandemic.

During the worst part of the pandemic, Kwan's had lost about 80 percent of its business. But the situation is improving, thanks to travelers and events happening nearby.

Still, the coronavirus is causing a lot of unknowns about the autumn. Kwan's owner, Andrew Song, said he heard that some businesses have moved permanently¹³ or downsized.

"It's sort of hard to imagine what it will look like," he said, with office workers not returning.

Words in This Story

adapt -v. to change (something) so that it operates better or is better fitted to a purpose

revenue -n. money that is made by or paid to a business or an organization

customer -n. someone who buys goods or services from a business

delivery -n. the act of taking something to a person or place

residential -adj. of or relating to the places where people live

1 frank   

adj.坦白的，直率的，真诚的

参考例句：

• A frank discussion can help to clear the air.坦率的谈论有助于消除隔阂。
• She is frank and outgoing.她很爽朗。

2 monthly   

adj.每月的，持续一个月的，每月发生的；adv.每月，按月； n.月刊；(复数）monthlies:月经

参考例句：

• The rent on his apartment was his biggest monthly expense.他的房租是每个月最大的开支。
• The monthly rent is $15,inclusive of light and water.每月租金15美元，包括水电费在内。

3 revenue   

n.总收入，财政收入，税收；税务局

参考例句：

• The country diminished the revenue by reducing tax.这个国家通过减税而使税收减少了。
• A government's revenue and expenditure should be balanced.政府的财政收入和支出要平衡。

4 delivery   

n.交付；投递；分娩；解救者；演讲的风格

参考例句：

• The strike caused a great delay in the delivery of the mail.这次罢工严重地延误了邮件的投递。
• He was employed at the local grocery store as a delivery boy.他受雇于当地杂货店当送货员。

5 combination   

n.组合，合并，联合；

参考例句：

• He carried on the business in combination with his friends.他与朋友们合伙做生意。
• The materials can be used singly or in combination.这些材料可以单独使用也可以混合用。

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 alliance   

n.同盟，同盟国，结盟，联姻

参考例句：

• China will not enter into alliance with any big power.中国不同任何大国结盟。
• The new alliance was very much in evidence.新的联盟上星期很引人注目。

8 profitable   

adj.有益的，能带来利益的，有利可图的

参考例句：

• That business became profitable last year.那项生意去年变得很赚钱。
• The convention business is very profitable for the hotel industry.承办会议业务能给旅馆业带来很高的利润。

9 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

10 residential   

adj.提供住宿的；居住的；住宅的

参考例句：

• The mayor inspected the residential section of the city.市长视察了该市的住宅区。
• The residential blocks were integrated with the rest of the college.住宿区与学院其他部分结合在了一起。

11 restrictions   

约束( restriction的名词复数 )； 管制； 制约因素； 带限制性的条件（或规则）

参考例句：

• I found the restrictions irksome. 我对那些限制感到很烦。
• a snaggle of restrictions 杂乱无章的种种限制

12 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

13 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。