Seattle business owners left to fend for themselves on crime take matters into their own hands

Seattle business owners outraged by the city’s crime trend put together a town hall-style meeting at a local barber shop to speak out about the violence and danger they face and to call on city leadership to take control. 

"Seattle city council’s number one job should be to protect the citizens of Seattle," Kevin Rinderle with Yukon Trading Company said at the meeting Tuesday, according to KOMO News. "We’re here collectively begging for help."

Matt Humphrey, owner of Steele Barber and Spa in Ballard, said he organized the meeting to talk about possible solutions to crime issues as businesses contend with rampant break-ins, vandalism, drug use, violence and homelessness.

"When it comes to crime in Seattle, I just don't want to be silent anymore," Humphrey said.

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Several business owners at the town hall directed their grievances toward Citywide Seattle Councilmember Sara Nelson, a small business owner herself, who was in attendance. 

"We've been broken into four times in the last couple of years, and when we're making our insurance claims, it's really hard because we're at the point where they could drop us," Karen Jahn with The Wax Bar said, according to KOMO News.

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Steve Naramore, of a shipping and coffee hybrid store called Sip and Ship, said that it’s become common practice for his employees to stand guard at the store’s door and engage the deadbolt if they see a potentially dangerous person approaching.

"Our crew are often left to deal with increasingly aggressive behavior," Naramore said. "A common position for one of our baristas is to stand by the front door with her hands on the deadbolt lock because somebody is pacing back and forth in crisis in front of the store, and we’re just worried, terrified that they’re going to come in and we don’t know really what’s going to happen from there."

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Another store owner said crime in the city might force the business to pack up and leave. 

"That's a painful conversation to bring up, and we want to stay here for a long time, but it has to make sense, for us, for our business," Burke Lyman with Ascent Outdoors said.

The business owners pitched solutions such as adding more police officers to patrol the city on foot and reimbursing businesses when their stores are vandalized. Attendees also shared advice on how to appropriately handle a stranger outside a store who appears to be in distress. 

Nelson told KOMO News that she heard the concerns from business owners, adding, "this is what keeps me up at night as the chair of economic development." She added that Seattle "can’t afford to lose any more businesses."

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Seattle has been dealing with a violent crime spike in recent years, including a 23% increase in fatal shootings last year. The city is also contending with issues of homelessness, drug use and cratering foot traffic stemming from the pandemic.

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Concerns from businesses over crime in the city has been vocalized by locally run shops all the way up to national brand names in recent months. Fox News Digital reported earlier this month that the Seattle Credit Union announced the closure of two branches over low foot traffic near the locations and public safety concerns. 

Starbucks, which is based out of Seattle, closed at least six Starbucks locations in the city over safety concerns in 2022.