Hojas Tea, Wolf’s Brew, and Cluck and Blaze are few of the many businesses that have been affected by the Long Beach City College school wide shut down. Since the pandemic, businesses on Norse Way in Long Beach have been affected in different ways.
These three local eateries share their story about how LBCC’s closure has affected their business and how they feel about the fall semester’s partial reopening.
“We have been affected because students would come in and they would have bible study,” said Veronica Diaz, night manager for Hojas Tea. Study groups or groups of students in general would go to Hojas because the campus is at a close walking distance and that’s no longer that case since students are taking classes online.
Hojas Tea House is a tea shop that sells a variety of tea drinks, but they also have coffee, pastries, and a lunch menu.
Hojas Tea saw a decline in business when the pandemic first started and is slowly picking up. For two months they were only open for the morning shift when the state guidelines first lifted for the food service industry.
“A lot of students would come into the store and say they missed us because students would come and do homework and hang out. Hopefully with the school reopening it will help business,” said Diaz.
Diaz hopes everything works out for the best for everyone and that everyone stays safe, customers and students, when the school reopens.
Wolf’s Brew had the opposite effect since COVID-19.
“It was a little slow. Most of our customers were college students and Boeing,” said Bryer Garcia, owner of Wolf’s Brew. Wolf’s Brew is a coffee and pastry shop with inspiration of European style coffee and feel.
Since the pandemic, business has doubled for the coffee shop. They have an outside patio area where locals can come and hang out within the state’s guidelines.
“We never want to make someone feel uncomfortable doing something normal. We want to provide a place that’s safe and welcoming,” said Garcia.
Garcia is excited about the campus reopening and is hoping to see the business get busier when the campus reopens. “During quarantine, I realized a cup of coffee is more than a cup of coffee.”
Cluck and Blaze, which is a Nashville hot chicken eatery, is another location found on Norse Way.
“The hardest part has been dealing with the guidelines and trying to have everyone on the same page,” said Johnny Yousoufian, Cluck and Blaze manager.
Yousoufian said that since the campus has closed it has affected business but not too much because Nashville hot chicken is trending which has helped the business during the pandemic.
All three businesses can be found in Lakewood Village in Long Beach including more not featured in this article.