Small Businesses Hit Hard in North Manhattan Beach

Todd Mannix, co-owner of Krise's of Manhattan Hair & Tanning Salon, is the chairman of the North Manhattan Beach Business Improvement District. Small businesses are suffering particularly in the north end, which receives less foot traffic and tourists than downtown, he said. Mannix shared with Patch his perspective on the struggles of small businesses during a tough economy.

Manhattan Beach Patch: How has the recession hit small businesses in North Manhattan Beach?

Todd Mannix: One of the things that impacts us is the turnover in businesses, and we have a lot of turnover in North Manhattan Beach, because it's so difficult with parking and awareness issues to be able to stay around long enough to have a customer base find them. You've got a couple of empty storefronts now.

The more businesses we have in the business district, especially ones that are retail stores and draw a crowd, they really help all the businesses in North Manhattan Beach. There are more opportunities for people to come to our area and patronize all our businesses.

Patch: What are your thoughts on the bill that President Obama says will help small businesses with a $30-billion lending program? How do you think it will affect those in Manhattan Beach?

Mannix: I think it's a fine idea, to have more money available for small businesses. You get a lot of entrepreneurs who want to have their own business. It's a great way to create jobs and help to bring back the economy. The economy coming back is going to drive business growth. If the key is loans for small businesses, then that's great. We realize that as business owners, we're part of a community, not just folks that live there.

Patch: What has the impact been on your business?

Mannix: We're all feeling it in our salon. People are buying less of the high-ticket items and extending time between hair cuts. Less colors, less extensions. People cut back on tanning. I know from talking to other business owners that we're all feeling it. We as small business owners know that every dollar really counts. People are really pulling back and we feel it.

Patch: What can the city do to help small business owners in the north end?

Mannix: One of the things that I think the city can do in the north end versus downtown is that we don't have a lot of parking. The reason the BID [Business Improvement District] was put together was to try to find opportunities for parking. There's simply no space where we are.

When they recently raised the parking meter [rates], it was citywide, without consideration for our unique circumstances. They did their study in the downtown lots, not in North Manhattan Beach. When they raised the rates, we weren't involved in their consideration.

What I think they can do to help is understand our circumstances being slightly different than downtown with the Metlox parking lot and multiple lots. We've got one lot on our street. The city can help by identifying the special needs of different business districts. They have worked with us before, which has been great. When it comes to large decisions, it would help to have north end businesses recognized for the slightly different environment that they're in.

Patch: Have you and the other businesses tossed around any solutions for parking in the north end?

Mannix: There was an initiative that was kicked around for two years. One was valet parking.

Patch: With Mike Quagletti of Upper Manhattan Restaurant and Lounge?

Mannix: Yes, Mike. His business as a more upscale restaurant suffered as a nighttime establishment. His costs were probably greater than some of the other restaurants around. He tried to get valet parking, but I think what it takes is more time to work with residents to make sure their needs are being heard and met. If it comes up again, as long as it's communicated properly we can find a happy medium. The other idea is using Verandas as a parking lot when they're not using it for special events at night.

Patch: Has the recently completed beautification project along Highland Avenue helped businesses in any noticeable way?

Mannix: It's tough to measure those directly. As business owners we're trying to be good partners. We got good responses from the community. When it used to be El Porto before we put up the North Manhattan Beach banner and did the crosswalks, not a lot was done to the north end. But my hope is that it will feel like more of a community, so then we will see those changes.