During economic downturns small businesses often struggle to stay afloat and do more with less. Columbus City Council is leading a series of roundtables to find out the needs of small businesses in Columbus.
June Brown and her husband own Carl Brown's Food Liner on Champion and Mt. Vernon Avenues. Brown says she and her husband stayed when others left because the community need stores like theirs. But Brown says she and fellow small business owners in the area are often frustrated by financial limitations.
Columbus City Council President Matt Habash is holding a series of roundtables in communities around Columbus to find out what issues concern small business owners and what solutions exist.
Habash says small businesses are the largest employers in the city. He says understanding the issues and concerns in each community needs will help the city tailor programs and projects to those needs.
Melvin Stewart, president of the Mt. Vernon Avenue District Improvement Association, says he was the first merchant to move into the Mt. Vernon Plaza. He says the cash flow into the Near Eastside community is virtually non-existent.