SAN FRANCISCO (KPIX) — Some cities and neighborhoods were able to come back to life in the past two years since the region-wide shelter-in-place order, but businesses in San Francisco’s Chinatown continue to struggle.

On March 16, 2020, a region-wide shelter-in-place was ordered to try and stop the spread of COVID-19. As people stayed home, the initial lockdown turned entire cities into ghost towns.

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There hasn’t been a lot of business to go around. And now, many Chinatown businesses that survived are struggling to keep up with rent.

“We have to close the store. We cannot afford the rent because it’s too high for us,” said Mrs. Wong, who owns Dot’s Printing and Stationery.

She is specifically struggling with the back-due rent she owes. With little to no customers over the past two years, she hasn’t made enough to keep up. Now she says her landlord is demanding back rent.

“I have no choice,” she said. “They’ve forced us to retire. But we don’t want to get out of Chinatown.”

Wong has been in business on Stockton Street for several decades.

Edward Siu, the owner of Classics Tour and head of the Chinatown Merchants United Association of San Francisco, says Wong is not alone in her struggle with past-due rent.

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“It’s really a hardship to us,” Siu said. “I believe there are more tenants who are facing the same kind of problem that we are.”

On Wednesday, the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development hosted a bilingual workshop in Chinatown about the small business rent relief pilot program.

There’s a total of $2 million that will help out around 50 small businesses struggling with back-due rent from when they were closed because of COVID, according to Diana Ponce De Leon, the Director of Invest in Neighborhoods for the Office of Economic and Workforce Development .

“For those who owe back due rent due to COVID when businesses were closed, they can apply for a grant of up to 50% of back due rent, up to $35,000,” Ponce De Leon said. “There are still businesses that aren’t fully back up to operation, and they still owe rent. Hopefully it’ll help to stabilize local businesses negotiate with their property owners on back due rent to stabilize them moving forward.”

Siu is glad some struggling small business owners will get a chance to grab this lifeline. However, he thinks landlords should be more understanding of the struggles their tenants continue to face – and should be more willing to negotiate.

“The landlords should be understanding of the tenants facing the problems, no matter where you are,” Siu said.

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To learn more about the program or how to apply, go to www.oewd.org.

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