Six restaurants in downtown Columbus will receive rent relief as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Columbus Redevelopment Commission voted unanimously Tuesday not to charge the six businesses rent for April and May.
“This will take a small amount of the burn off what is going to be a huge problem,” commission President Al Roszczyk said.
Andy Russell, owner of the Orange Leaf yogurt shop in The Commons, told the commission his business is completely shut down, and at this time, he has no idea when he’ll reopen, or how long it will take to rebuild his clientele.
Although Roszczyk said Tuesday’s decision is expected to cost the city about $38,000 in revenue, Roszczyk asked his fellow commissioners to consider how much revenue will be gone if the city loses a tenant.
“How long would it take to bring a new tenant on board,” Roszczyk asked? “Six months? A year?”
For more on this story, see Wednesday’s Republic.
