PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — The rising cost of renting an apartment is something we've talked about for months...but one area that hasn't received as much attention is commercial rent prices for local businesses.
Many business owners said they're seeing massive rent-hikes... and now they are asking residents and tourists to shop local.
Mary Clark owns Shoreline Sugars Boutique in Downtown St. Petersburg.
"St. Pete has become such a hot spot, such a hot commodity, and everyone is wanting to be down here," said Clark.
She said supporting local businesses is a big priority for her.
"These are your neighbors, these are your friends, when you walk in here, we know your name, we know your size, we know your weekend plans," said Clark.
Right now, downtown St. Petersburg is filled with many local businesses, some newer than others...and not always for the best reason.
"I open up Instagram, and it's almost like every week I see there are businesses closing, or moving from this Central Avenue area where the rent seems to be the highest," said Megan Garcia-Cooper, owner of Brutique in St. Petersburg.
Garcia-Cooper said rent for local businesses have gone up significantly in the last four years.
"The last couple years, St. Pete has blown up, especially during covid we saw an influx of people from up North moving down here which has really driven rent and everything else up," she said.
Owner of Three Dog Bakery, Joe Naughton, said the rent increases are causing problems.
"It squeezes the profit margin and you just look at other ways to make the business work," said Naughton.
Many people love St. Pete for it's unique mom and pop shops, but what can we do to keep it that way?
"We will lose what makes St. Pete unique if our community doesn't step up and support these local businesses," said Olga Bof, founder of an organization called Keep St. Pete Local.
Bof is hosting a major event this weekend aimed at highlighting local businesses... fittingly called Localtopia.
"It's like over 300 business that need the support to continue so they can show up the following year at Localtopia and hopefully stick around," said Bof.
But one weekend of local shopping isn't a solution.
Local business owners said they would like to see some kind of intervention from city leaders just go get by.
"I think some kind of rent control to some extent, I'm not entirely sure how doable that is…and then I think just keeping the people who are renovating and contracting these new buildings, keeping those people local so they prioritize putting local people in those retail spots," said Clark.
St. Pete ended funding of the "Fighting Chance Fund," which helped local businesses with money to get through the pandemic.
But city leaders add that a struggling business owners first stop should be The Greenhouse, which provides micro-funding to small businesses and helps with business development.
Clark is urging everyone to shop local now, more than ever.
"Those dollars stay in your local community and we need those dollars circulating," said Clark.
