Downtown LA restaurants hope reduced curfew restores business after protests

DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- On Monday night, the streets of Los Angeles were largely quiet. While many are relieved the nights of violent unrest have calmed down, there is a different impact now being felt -- the economic impact on downtown businesses.

City leaders say it was a step in the right direction, moving the start of the nightly curfew back to 10 p.m. instead of 8 p.m.

Many businesses in downtown L.A. are welcoming the change after the curfew and protests have had a major impact on their bottom line.

High above the city, 71Above in the U.S. Bank Tower is one of many businesses that have taken a big hit over the past couple of weeks.

"Very challenging to say the least," said Nelson Wang, the assistant general maneger at 71Above. "The curfew has played a very large role in our loss of revenue and reservations."

The popular restaurant with stunning views has seen a shocking 50% drop in diners due to the reduced hours since the curfew took effect last week. But, there is hope on the horizon after Mayor Karen Bass pushed the start of the curfew back to 10 p.m.

In the Little Tokyo area, clean-up continues after businesses were hit by vandalism during the anti-ICE protests.

"We lost about 50% to 60%," said Rico Alsaffarini with Mike's Deli. "That's a huge amount. That's a huge amount."

Many businesses not only lost money from the closures, but also from the damage and vandalism.

"Please, please do not destroy or vandalize our community," said Cos Trujillo with Aid & Abet Bail Bonds.

City leaders say the curfew has been successful in preventing more damage in downtown L.A.

The City Council is expected to discuss the possibility of extending how long the curfew will be in effect during its meeting on Tuesday. At this point, the curfew has no end date.

Many businesses say they are hoping it is short-lived so they can rebuild their bottom line.

"Very optimistic that the strength of downtown, everybody will rally together and bring everything back to normal, or some sort of normalcy," Wang said.

For now, the curfew is in place each night from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. in a one-mile section of downtown.