Small-business owners tell Richmond council enforcement has shuttered neighborhood stores; council to follow up

Several small-business owners confronted council with accounts of aggressive inspections and long closures that, they said, threaten neighborhood retail and local jobs.

Esidin Al Asad, speaking for a group of local merchants, said neighborhood convenience stores are "the backbone of Richmond's neighborhoods," warned that new policies could push out longtime Black-owned businesses, and asked the council to consider who benefits from regulations and whether enforcement amounts to targeting. He cited Jackson Ward as an example of policy decisions that dismantled a strong local business community.

Business owner Gamden Alashari described repeated inspections at his store, said inspectors and police prevented customers from entering, and said city-ordered stickers barred even the owner from accessing the premises. "I can't go inside my business... I'm not allowed to go there," Alashari said, adding that seven employees were out of work while the business was closed for more than a month.

Council Member Trammell and other members thanked business speakers and requested that the CAO and the administration review the specific cases; Trammell invited the affected merchants to meet with the CAO, police and relevant department staff and said the council would pursue follow-up so owners could understand how to reopen when violations appear to be minor or fixable.

Council asked the legislative liaison, Tarnika Edmonds, to be a point of contact for follow-up and referrals to the proper city departments.