Less Foot Traffic Means More Uncertainty For Brighton Businesses

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
A number of vacated storefronts dot the main drags in
Alston and Brighton, soon to include the beloved breakfast icon
Twin Donuts. I set out to see if all these
closures were a coincidence or if something else is at play.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
A number of other businesses around town that have had
some increases in rent, and you know it's hot on them.

Speaker 1 (00:15):
Kelly McGrath is the executive director of Brighton Main Streets.
She knows the business scene here better than anyone else.
On top of steeply rising rent, foot traffic has been
a serious problem.

Speaker 2 (00:24):
Business is down anywhere from twenty to forty percent, is
what a lot of them are telling me.

Speaker 1 (00:29):
She says. Businesses have seen fewer customers since remote work
became a thing, and those people didn't really return after
the pandemic. Part of that is now cultural too.

Speaker 2 (00:36):
You know, they're not socializing at lunchtime, they're not socializing afterwork.

Speaker 1 (00:40):
Crowds still, with new houses getting built in a handful
of new stores and restaurants coming in, she's optimistic of
the area. Will Claude's Way Out. Kyle Shaffle to BBZ
Boston's news radio