Many businesses in downtown D.C. are breathing a sigh of relief after reports from Friday that President Joe Biden is pushing cabinet members to bring federal workers back to offices.
“Most of our business are people who worked in the buildings, in the offices,” Chocolate Chocolate owner Ginger Park told WTOP.
The sweets shop is located on Connecticut Avenue in the once bustling Golden Triangle area.
“I do know that we are not back to where we were (pre-pandemic), and I don’t think that’s going to happen until the federal workers return,” she continued.
Around 130 retailers have shuttered their doors since the early months of 2020, when initial lockdowns were enforced, according to Golden Triangle Business Improvement District President Leona Agouridis.
“During the height of the pandemic, we were seeing office occupancies, of at most 10% of the people in office buildings,” Agouridis said. “Over the last year-and-a-half or so, we have seen an increase in the number of people in office buildings downtown. And most recently, the last week or two, it has averaged at about 42%.”
Many of those offices house federal workers and private businesses that work directly with the federal government.
On Aug. 4, Axios first reported that Biden’s Chief of Staff Jeff Zients sent an email to every Cabinet member saying federal agencies must return to in-person work. The push will begin next month, according to reports.
That’s welcome news to many of the businesses that occupy street-level shops.
“We at the Golden Triangle BID and others applaud President Biden for making the push for federal agencies to return to in-office work this fall,” Agouridis said.
Meanwhile, Park and Chocolate Chocolate are skeptical.
“It’s certainly something we’re waiting for. But whether it’s actually going to happen, it’s hard to know, we’ve kind of gone beyond wishing and praying and just running our business,” she said.
