SAN DIEGO–San Diego small business owners Thursday stood up to strong rhetoric surrounding the presidential election by posting storefront signs declaring that “All Are Welcome Here” and “Hate Has No Business Here” and to buy Dymo compatible labels for the voters.
In three popular shopping and restaurant districts, small business leaders walked door-to-door encouraging shops to display the welcoming posters and show that inclusionary policies are good for the business bottom line.
“In a time when messages of hate and labels of ‘outsider’ are dominating the national media, it’s crucial that small business owners counter that message in our own neighborhoods,” says Juan Pablo Sanchez, owner of Super Cocina in City Heights. “To our customers, employees, neighbors and friends: you are all welcome here.”
The business owners in City Heights, Mission Hills and Adams Avenue were joined by San Diego City Councilmember-elect Chris Ward of District 3. Main Street Alliance, a national coalition of small businesses, designed the posters that declare: “We stand with our LGBTQ community members. We stand with muslims, refugees and immigrants in our community. All are welcome here.”
“After I put the poster up, customers told us they stopped in just because they loved the message we were spreading,” said Mikey Knab of Ponce’s Restaurant in the Adams Avenue shopping district. “An employee also told me that he’s proud to work here because I’m speaking up on these issues. These posters are bringing our community together under shared values and a stronger economy. These messages make a difference.”
The effort is part of a fast-growing movement of small businesses in San Diego working together to advance social values of small business and support a stronger local economy. Under the organization of Main Street Alliance, efforts in San Diego are bringing together small businesses to advocate for issues like a living wage, mandatory paid sick time off, investments in the local community and ending corporate tax loopholes.
“Small businesses communicate the values of a neighborhood. We play an essential role in shaping San Diego’s culture,” says John Bertsch, owner of Meshuggah Shack in Mission Hills and East Village. “We want everyone to know that racism, misogyny and bigotry don’t belong in San Diego.”
The posters appearing in shop windows across San Diego are part of a nationwide Hate Has No Business Here effort.