Before COVID-19's stranglehold on society, a typical weekday morning in downtown Minneapolis meant skyways were busy with people headed to work via the 9.5 miles of pathways connecting the city blocks.
Inside those skyways were businesses that relied on customers stopping in the morning to buy coffee, eating lunch, or grabbing a snack for the commute home. That all changed in March.
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Businesses ordered employees to work from home indefinitely over COVID-19 fears and Minnesota governor Tim Walz's Stay Safe order. For walkin'dog owner Dave Magnuson, the future of his downtown business of 29 years was, and still is, on the line.
"It would be less, but there are so many places that are not open right now," he said.
While Magnuson has been able to keep his business open, his hallway neighbor inside the Northstar Center wasn't as lucky.
David Ogaard ran Cheetah Pizza in the Northstar Center and closed for about one week in March. After the initial closure, he tried to muscle his business through the pandemic the best that he could.
"During normal times, we'd serve 125 to 200 customers a day, depending on the day. Mondays were usually slower and Thursdays were the busiest," Ogaard said. "After COVID-19 hit, we saw 30 to 35 customers a day."
As days and weeks continued, the hope of keeping a business that relies so much on the life of downtown slowly faded. Ogaard closed Cheetah Pizza earlier this summer after 19 years in business.
"You don't expect to end a 37-year pizza career from a virus," Ogaard said. "I looked at the future and said 'Downtown will never be the same. I don't think it's going to be the same for a long, long time, if ever.'"
Ogaard said he's heard some larger companies in downtown plan to reduce office anywhere between 33 to 50-percent, with a set number of employees rotated in on certain days, every two weeks.
"I know Subway is suffering just like we were," Ogaard said. "Some of the other places that aren't open are saying they won't open until they can expect to do 70 to 80 percent of what they used to do. I don't think that's going to happen. They may never reopen."
Ogaard paid month to month for his spot inside the Northstar Center, while Magnuson's lease for walkin'dog expires in November 2021.
"Those who didn't have a lease and are able to walk away are probably in a better place," Magnuson said. "I'm taking it a week and a month at a time. Hopefully, as businesses start to reorganize it can help us out in the long run."
Along with the fear of COVID-19, questions around the safety of downtown Minneapolis are likely to have a long-term impact on businesses hoping to survive. Magnuson's business was shut down for two and a half days during the unrest that happened after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police.
"Even now you don't want to be downtown at night," he said. "Even if the Twins were playing, I don't know if I'd feel comfortable walking from Target Field to here after the game. There's a lot more stuff going on than there ever was before. You're always kind of looking over your shoulder."
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