KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Business owners on the Country Club Plaza say they're in a tough spot.
Many of them just reopened after the coronavirus pandemic and have been forced to close again.
Amanda Rismiller, owner of Mojo Cycling Studio, said seeing boarded-up stores is sad, but she is inspired by the history happening nearby.
"I'm inspired by what is happening. I'm inspired by people getting out and sharing their concerns and their voice and I hope it changes things, I think we all need to be in this together," Rismiller said.
Rismiller said her business reopened May 16 and is still trying to navigate life during the pandemic.
"We're a locally, small-owned business, and it's been hard on us," Rismiller said.
Across the Plaza at Larissa's Plaza Tailor Shop, Co-owner Mikhail Naumov said the business can only take so much. He wants protesters to know he supports them and their message.
"We're with them, we're with you guys, we're not against you, but we have to suffer," Naumov said.
Naumov said the business was able to run through the last few months because it is considered essential, but he said the shop barely had any customers so it started making masks to have some form of income.
"We had to let go of all of our employees, we called them back, and now we have to let them go again because we were forced to close," Naumov said.
Mayor Quinton Lucas complimented protesters who gathered Tuesday.
Kansas City, Missouri, police announced its "best night yet" with fewer altercations and no tear gas deployed.
