DENVER — Another business in downtown Denver said on Tuesday that homeless encampments are making it harder to stay open.
Last week, Triangle Bar, on Broadway near Stout Street, closed its doors due to safety concerns. Now, other businesses in the area worry they could be next.
"It's just all so unfortunate," said Danny Newman, owner and caretaker of Mercury Cafe, at 22nd and California streets.
Newman said the venue is used to welcoming in all types, but lately, bringing those folks in has gotten harder because of what's happening outside their doors.
"I would say the last year, but even more so the last six months, it became something different," Newman said. "It was more aggressive, just scarier."
Homeless encampments have long been a frequent sight in this stretch of downtown Denver. But suddenly, the sidewalks in front of Newman's business and others began to see a different crowd: drug dealing, prostitution and other illegal activities.
At times, those problems even made their way into the Mercury, Newman said. They hired off-duty police officers to help.
“It did work, but it came at a huge actual financial cost," he said. "Off-duty officers are $90 an hour, and that’s thousands and thousands of dollars a week that we can’t afford during the best of times. And during the worst of times, it was kind of our last-ditch effort to try and do something."
Even with their efforts, bookings for private events have dropped 70% for this holiday season. Newman said they worry what might be next.
"We downsized quite a bit, we're kind of bare bones on all fronts right now, just to try and survive," he said.
They're not alone. Triangle Bar nearby closed up shop just last week due to massive drops in traffic from homeless encampments. Other neighboring businesses said they too are struggling, Newman said.
But walking outside, there's some hope in the air. The Mercury Cafe sits along a cleanup zone. The city even still has the signs up. Newman said the cleanup last week of the encampment in front of the Mercury is the first time he's seen it happen in the two years he's been here.
"I think keeping it clean, keeping it safe for everybody is a positive for everyone involved," he said.
Newman said he hopes the city sticks with it and encourages people to come back to these businesses once again. Without it, he said he worries his and other businesses won't be able to stay afloat.
Newman said he'd also like to see the city offer grants or loans for businesses impacted by the homeless encampments so that they can stay open. And he said he believes in what the city is trying to do with bringing in the unhoused.
“I really am in support of the mayor’s missions and plans and things like that. And I can be supportive of it but really want it to go faster in a lot of ways,” he said. “Obviously, grants would be extremely helpful in the near term to keep us afloat until we can get through this. But honestly, keeping the neighborhood clean would be amazing. Like we’re down to help with that.”
9NEWS reached out to the Mayor Mike Johnston's office about concerns for the future of businesses downtown. They sent us this statement:
"The Mayor’s Office is in regular contact with businesses across the city, including downtown, to support local businesses and collaborate on our effort to get 1,000 Denverites off the streets and into housing, while permanently closing encampments and keeping their neighborhoods closed to future camping. Encampments in this area are a top priority for Mayor Johnston, and we are working quickly to both move residents of those encampments indoors and provide opportunities to reactivate this neighborhood. Yesterday, Mayor Johnston announced the Dynamic Downtown Denver Grant Program, which aims to facilitate engaging community events downtown, bringing more people downtown to support these businesses."
For more information about the Dynamic Downtown Denver Grant Program, visit the website.
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