Downtown Brownsville shops report low foot traffic during Labor Day weekend
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Local business owners have been concerned about inflation, hoping the holiday weekend could mean some more sales.
People like Citlally Valles are hitting the streets of downtown Brownsville, looking for Labor day holiday deals. Valles likes to stick to the downtown area to avoid crowds.
"The mall is kind of too busy, too full, so we just stop at downtown," Valles said.
El Toro, a downtown Brownsville shop, has been around for 36 years. Owner Francisco Cermeno says three-day holiday weekends typically bring in larger crowds. He says foot traffic at his store this holiday weekend is not what he was expecting.
Cermeno says this year, he is only able to mark down some of his products, pointing to inflation.
"The merchant increased the price around 10 to 20 percent more," Cermeno said. "We pay more, my suppliers."
Cermeno is selling some of his products for $5 to $10 more. He first rolled out the price hikes at the beginning of the year.
"We try surviving the increase in prices, and it's ok," Cermeno said. "We're staying stable right now."
Not far from El Toro is Casa Kevin. Prices have also spiked because of inflation. Wendy Espinosa works at the store. She believes inflation is causing people to cut back on their leisurely spending.
"The truth is, we've had to increase the price with the majority of the products and now we are going from aisle to aisle changing because they've gone up a little," Espinosa said.
Both businesses are hoping for a stronger turn out.
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