Several Seattle business owners say they’re struggling to stay open as they deal with rampant crime.
Some say it’s gotten really bad since the World Cup wrapped up.
“We’ve spent almost 30 years in this downtown core area of Seattle,” said restaurant owner Marchelle Varamini. “We are super frustrated with how much we’re having to deal with right now.”
Varamini and her husband, Farshid, own and operate Gantry Public House by the stadiums and Climate Pledge Arena, along with People’s Burger food truck and Pioneer Grill hot dog stands by the stadiums.
They say all of those locations have recently been burglarized or vandalized.
“It has compounded over the last six to eight weeks, almost becoming unmanageable,” said Marchelle.
For example, last week, a group of people in disguise broke into the restaurant to steal cash registers and a safe.
“It’s taken me weeks to even get police reports filed, and I still haven’t completed all the police reports,” said Marchelle.
Owners say the city atmosphere flourished during the World Cup but has quickly gone downhill.
“Everyone I speak to, other business owners, really hoped-- especially in this area-- there would be some sort of ongoing structure that stayed in place that they brought in for FIFA. It was awesome and now it’s not.”
The couple say they hope for better times as they get ready to open a new location, Sid’s Tavern in Pioneer Square, which has already been hit by theft.
“We love Seattle. We’ve seen what it can be. There’s no reason why it cannot grow into what it was during the World Cup, an event that was only a month ago. We’re not giving up,” said Farshid Varamini.