A family-owned market in Solana Beach says declining customer traffic over the past year is putting pressure on the business, with its owners attributing the drop in sales in part to fear surrounding increased immigration enforcement in the region.
Siblings Wendy and Carlo Aguilar bought John’s Market five years ago and say they have built relationships with many of their regular customers.
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But the owners say they have noticed fewer familiar faces coming through the doors in recent months.
“We are losing a lot of customers due to the fear of immigration,” Wendy Aguilar said.
Carlo Aguilar said many of the people who shop at the market work in restaurants, hotels, landscaping and other service jobs throughout the area.
The Aguilars say some customers are spending less because they are saving money in case they need to hire an attorney, begin a legal process, or return to their home country.
“A lot of people have stopped spending as much as they used to,” Wendy Aguilar said.
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The owners also say they have seen some longtime customers leave the area. They point to packages and personal belongings being shipped to Mexico. Their claims come as immigration enforcement has increased in the San Diego region. According to records from theDeportation Data Project released in July, more than 9,000 people had been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the San Diego area so far this year, more than in Los Angeles and San Francisco combined.
For the Aguilars, the impact is showing up in the store’s finances.
Wendy Aguilar said sales have fallen by more than 50% and that the business is behind on expenses including utilities, rent and insurance.
“We’re getting to a point to where we are going to have to make a choice, the decision where we have to close our doors,” she said.
The possibility of closing weighs heavily on the siblings, who say the market is more than just a business.
“If this closes, it’ll be a dark corner,” Carlo Aguilar said. The Aguilars say they hope to continue operating the market but expect to make a decision about its future in the coming month.
