Many businesses along the inaugural parade route are planning to remain open Jan. 20 despite restricted access inside the Secret Service’s security perimeter.
“We are looking for business as usual,” said Patty Brosmer, president of Capitol Hill Business Improvement District.
The city’s business improvement districts and local businesses are scheduled to meet Friday morning to discuss the street closures and regulations, said Sloan Carroll, spokesman for Golden Triangle BID, which serves the central business district.
Stores that anticipate business from visitors — projected to be anywhere from 1 million to 5 million — attending Barack Obama’s inauguration are extending store hours. For example, the CVS at 1901 Pennsylvania Ave. NW will remain open 24 hours from Jan. 17 through Jan. 20.
“I don’t think the service folks will see any real gains, but I think there will be a win for people who sell accessories like hats, gloves, scarves and umbrellas,” said Keith Sellars, the senior vice president of development and retail for the Washington, D.C. Economic Partnership.
But businesses that are not expecting to benefit from the historic event are planning to close.
Businesses that will lose regular customers due to their location on roads with restricted access and that are unlikely to draw out-of-towners, such as Dykema Law Firm at 1300 I St. NW and D.C. Dry Cleaners at 1901 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, will shut for the day.
Brewood Engravers, a paper engraving shop at 1701 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, plans to close unless the store can find an inauguration-related product to sell.
“We know it’s going to be really crowded,” said Ernest Atkinson, chief executive of Brewood Engravers. “Unless we have something to sell for the inauguration, we will be closed. I would like to stay open, but I really have to find something to sell for the crowd.”
