LOS ANGELES – Many small businesses, especially in the service hospitality sector, have suffered as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic due to lack of relief for rent and mortgage payments.
The state of California’s Health officials have also repeatedly opened and closed restaurants and bars in response to the number of new cases or hospitalizations which has made it difficult for small businesses to stay alive.
Some businesses have had to shut their doors forever while others still have headed onto social media to crowd fundraise money to stay open.
For the Silver Lake neighborhood’s queer bar, Akbar, it has been an ongoing struggle to keep up with the monthly mortgage payments. “Los Angeles County mandated that we shut our doors in March