"It's a serious situation for them, but they've been strong so far," says Kurt Weigle, the President of the Downtown Development District.
Every kind of business is located in the cordoned off evacuation zone around the Hard Rock Hotel site. Into this world of confusion is the Downtown Development District, which is communicating with owners.
"Many of them have been closed since Saturday, in the immediate aftermath," Weigle says. "That means employees are not working and nobody knows how soon they could go back to work, open up and return to the revenue they are used to."
Some businesses are connected to chains with parent companies who can help them. Some have business interruption insurance. "That insurance makes payments in the event your business cannot operate for some reason." However Weigle says, "That does not last forever, that has a limited time frame on it. Some have some level of protection, others not nearly as much."
Others are wringing their hands and waiting for the moment the cash registers will start to ring once again. These businesses are being held hostage to the whims of the weather, gravity, and a pair of cranes leaning precariously.
"Their biggest concern is not knowing," Weigle says as he talks about owners doing what they can for their employees. When making initial contact with them, Weigle remarked, "Some of the first things they said is 'well, I'm going to try and find work, maybe at some other place temporarily for my work force, but if this goes on for too long of a period, then the ability to do that diminishes."
Weigle says the first priority of the development district right now is to listen to the concerns of business owners and operators.