Starting a new business was a dream come true for Angel Diaz.
“It was always an idea that I had to have my own flower shop,” he said.
But when he opened up The Centerpiece Flower Shop in West Roxbury in February, he never imagined a pandemic would upend his future: “I wasn’t expecting to be closed weeks later.”
Despite the economy reopening, business is still slow. There's not much foot traffic.
And that’s something the city of Boston is thinking about as it prepares to rebuild the tourism industry and bring back visitors to the city and its neighborhoods.
“It’s not just the big businesses,” Mayor Marty Walsh said at a Thursday news conference. “Trying to help out the small businesses as well.”
He said a team has been hired to design a campaign to attract tourists back to Boston -- when it’s safer to travel.
“This would not be the appropriate time to market the city, but we’re preparing for the inevitable, that we’ll be able to market the city,” Walsh said.
The city’s diversity will be highlighted in the ad campaign, so businesses like Diaz’ could benefit.
He hopes things turn around soon and he has no regrets about diving into business this year.
“It is my dream and that’s what I’m here for,” Diaz said. “I have to keep moving.”
