One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.
An Unusually Slow New Year’s Day For Pasadena Businesses: ‘Our Goal Is To Survive’
Colorado Blvd. was quiet on New Year's Day for the first time in decades. (Chava Sanchez/LAist)
Last year, Lêberry Bakery on Colorado Boulevard was open for a full 24-hours leading up to the Rose Parade on New Year's Day. Owner Jennifer Le says people waited up to two hours for one of their signature vegan donuts.
“That one day made a huge difference for our business last year,” Le said.
This morning, Colorado Boulevard was quiet, save for several dozen classic cars cruising the normally closed streets.
The Tournament of Roses estimates the economic impact of the game and the parade at almost $200 million with most of those dollars spent on accommodations and food.
For local businesses, the projected loss caps nine months of pandemic-induced hardship. Le said before the most recent surge of COVID-19 cases, Lêberry was just starting to see an increase in take-out orders for pies and cakes.
“Our goal is to survive,” Le said. “It's not to make money. It's to survive at this point, to ensure that our employees have a job.”
READ THE FULL STORY:
Our news is free on LAist. To make sure you get our coverage: Sign up for our daily newsletters. To support our non-profit public service journalism: Donate Now.
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief
