Imagine: after months of quarantine, the school finally re-opens. At the end of this hypothetical day, students leave school to have a late lunch. To their surprise, most local businesses are closed. Countless individuals lost their jobs because of COVID-19. Now, it is more important than ever to support local businesses to prevent this from happening.

   Supporting local businesses provides a significant number of jobs to the community. Supporting local businesses also helps build the local economy. Local companies are also more fuel-efficient because they have smaller carbon footprints than larger companies.

Popular local business Yoberri, that attracts many Parker students, struggled during the pandemic. Fortunately, Yoberri was deemed a “necessary” business, so they had the privilege of being open during the pandemic. However, Yoberri was having a challenging time selling goods to their nonexistent customers. “Although we got to stay open, nobody wanted ice cream. We were scared for our jobs, but we have started to bounce back ever so slowly,” an unnamed Yoberri employee said. 

However, other companies had much better luck during the pandemic. Wicker Park’s local grocery store, Olivia’s Market has been able to function properly amidst the coronavirus. “Many people from the neighborhood wanted to pitch in because they knew we were in trouble. We did not go through most of the problems other businesses went through. If it was not for our neighbors and friends helping us, I don’t know what could have happened,” Bill Maheras, Olivia’s Market owner, said.

Local restaurant Velvet Taco struggled during the pandemic. “We had to close down for a long time, but when we opened back up, it was so cool to see all of the people lining up to order. We got to set up an outside area, and everything ran smoothly,” Velvet Taco worker Terry J. said. He wanted to stress the message that the coronavirus precautions should be taken more seriously. “Too many people come in and out, forgetting masks and blatantly disregarding about social distancing,” Terry J. said. He made it apparent how difficult it is to succeed when nobody is taking the pandemic seriously.

As the pandemic unfolds and more freedom is granted to all citizens, the Parker community needs to keep local businesses in mind. It would be such a shame to lose many long-standing  businesses to the coronavirus. Chicago needs these businesses.