The combination of the pandemic and cross-border travel restrictions separated Sunil Gakherja from some of his most loyal customers.
Gakherja, who owns a perfume store on San Ysidro Boulevard, saw his profits evaporate after the Trump administration banned non-essential border crossings beginning in March 2020. And he struggled to recover even after President Joe Biden lifted the lockdown in November.
That’s because the vast majority of the San Ysidro shopkeeper’s customers live in Mexico. But in recent weeks Gakhreja has been reunited with his old customers – some who’ve been with him for years.
Gakhreja has particularly enjoyed seeing how much people’s lives have changed in the last 21 months.
“Some are a lot heavier, some got divorced, a lot are pregnant or have children now,” he said. “I guess there was not a lot to do during the pandemic.”
For the businesses of San Ysidro, this holiday shopping period is a much-needed lifeline.
Since the pandemic began, roughly 300 closed permanently, according to Jason Wells, CEO of the San Ysidro Chamber of Commerce.
Wells said sales now are approximately 70 percent of where they were before the pandemic.
“We’re still not quite at 100 percent of pre-pandemic, but we are certainly in a lot better space than we were in October,” he said.
Most of the money businesses are making now will go toward paying off debt they took on to stay afloat.
“What this holiday season means is stabilization of these businesses that have been reeling for almost two years,” Wells said. “It’s stabilizing them and putting them in a position where they can start paying back some of the credit they’ve used.”
One continued threat to San Ysidro’s economic recovery is long border wait times. Three-hour wait times have become the norm in recent months, Wells says.
The Chamber of Commerce has tried to work with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB) to reduce the wait time, but Wells says those efforts have gone nowhere.
“Unfortunately, CBP has not helped,” he said. “Waits continue to be excessive.”
But that cloud isn’t keeping Gakherja and his fellow merchants from enjoying their new lease on life.
“It’s like a fresh air, you know,” Gakhreja said. “Last year was very depressing, you can say. But this year looks like Christmas.”
