Businesses in San Ysidro hope to recover after reopening the border

SAN YSIDRO —

Businesses in San Ysidro waited 597 days for this moment.

Olivia Campos, owner of Carolin Shoes, arrived at her store an hour earlier than usual to get everything ready and welcome back customers who cross the border on tourist visas.

This Monday, the restrictions on non-essential travel at the land border for vaccinated tourists were lifted, for which, for almost 20 months, they were not allowed to enter the country.

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The United States had warned that longer than usual lines were expected due to the long-awaited reopening, but at least during the early hours of Monday, that was not the case.

The merchants themselves in San Ysidro realized this.

“I imagined that we would see a lot of people, that we would be crazy serving customers, but at the moment everything is calm,” said Campos, who has been with her business in San Ysidro for more than a decade.

Campos believes that several factors could have influenced, first, that many people chose to stay home for fear of having to wait hours in line, or second, because it was a work Monday.

However, she is confident that as soon as this weekend, the tourists will return.

Campos believes that the reopening could not have come at a better time, given that the Christmas shopping season is the most important of the year in terms of sales.

"It's a hope that everything gets better and that we get out of this hole we're in right now."

Eustolia Santiago and her neighbor, Adelina Arellano, made the trip from Ensenada. They estimate that they stood in line for about an hour to cross from Tijuana to San Ysidro this morning.

“We were already dying to come and buy some sneakers,” said Santiago, interviewed in said store.

Negocios en San Ysidro confían en recuperarse tras reapertura de la frontera

They said they wanted to cross today for fear that the border would close again later.

Alex Espinoza, who helps his mother in the Rossy's Fashion business on San Ysidro Boulevard, agreed that the return of tourists is vital for the economic revival of the business.

“We hope to return to normal. December is coming up, and usually that month is very good for us,” he said.

Espinoza commented that during the last year and a half they were able to survive with the support of government programs and loans. “They were very difficult months, not only for us, but for many of our neighbors. A lot of people had to close, unfortunately."

It is estimated that in the period from March 2020 to March 2021, more than 200 businesses closed in San Ysidro as a result of the restrictions, representing a loss of 1,900 jobs, according to data from the San Ysidro Chamber of Commerce.

Nearly 80 percent of business in San Ysidro relies on cross-border customers, mostly on tourist visas.

“We can finally breathe here in San Ysidro,” said Jason Wells, director of the San Ysidro Chamber of Commerce. "Today we are welcoming all Mexicans with open arms."

Officials from both sides of the border gathered outside the PedEast pedestrian crossing today to celebrate the reopening of the border.

"We are very happy that right now there is not a long line, so you can come, come to buy, to eat, to use the trolley," said supervisor Nora Vargas.

"We want everyone to come, we are very happy that we already have the opportunity for our communities to integrate again, since many families have not seen their grandparents, their uncles, and their relatives," she added.

Seeing no lines, Baja Californians dare to cross

María de Jesús Ramírez, a resident of Tijuana, did not plan to go shopping this Monday.

However, this morning, she took a look at the Facebook group How's the Line and realized that the lines to cross the border were not as long as she thought.

"I didn't think to cross so soon, but I saw in the group that there was no line and we came," said Ramírez, who made the trip accompanied by her family.

During more than a year and a half of partial closure of the border to non-essential travel, there was no shortage of memes on social networks that alluded to those who missed shopping in San Diego.

One of the most recurring, those who longed to return to the Ross.

One of Ramírez's first stops was precisely at this store located in a commercial plaza in San Ysidro.

"It wasn't like I felt so desperate to come, but since they already opened me up, I said well, let's go."

Norma Morales, also went to this store. "There are products that I couldn't find in Tijuana the entire time the line was closed, and this morning when I saw that there was no line, I decided to cross," she said.

Other buyers were José Pablo and his father, Ramiro Amezcua.

José Pablo lives in Tijuana and his father in San Diego. Seeing no lines, he crossed the border after several months, to take advantage and do his Christmas shopping.

Ramiro did not hide his emotion at knowing that now his children will be able to cross the border as before.

“I am very happy, and I have other children who are also happy to cross again.”

Authorities will be aware of the lines at checkpoints

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has urged people traveling for non-essential reasons to avoid crossing during peak hours .

The hours in which heaviest traffic is anticipated at the ports are Monday through Friday from 4 to 9 am , and on Sundays , from 2 pm to midnight .

In Tijuana, an operation was launched on the Fast Lane to give greater fluidity to the traffic expected in the Ready Lane queues.

Starting this weekend, the two lanes on the far left are used as a queue for the border crossing, while the line on the far right was designated for those who want to go to Playas de Tijuana.

With this, authorities seek to prevent vehicles from getting into the line, therefore, that the crossing progresses more smoothly.

"I expected much more traffic," acknowledged Montserrat Caballero, mayor of Tijuana.

“We implemented an organization plan on the road axis since last week, we began to practice it on Saturday so that the officers would not be stressed today.”

Authorities on both sides of the border indicated that they will continue to monitor wait times, which could vary depending on the day and time.

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