Calle Ocho risks losing many businesses as well as its appeal if the government does not allow for expanded outdoor seating by using parking lanes and closing streets. 
Little Havana business owners are finding themselves at an extreme loss of business as the COVID-19 pandemic continues for longer than anyone expected it to. For months, Calle Ocho has been clear of the tourists and visitors that would usually flood the streets because of the mandated shutdowns of many businesses, in addition to the closure of dining rooms in restaurants. Businesses have suffered tremendous losses because of the lack of foot traffic on the Calle Ocho strip.

Calle Ocho is a South Florida pillar that thrives on tourism, travel, and restaurants. Many of the restaurants are family-owned and ran by generations of families who began their journey to Miami when they immigrated from Cuba in the 1960s. These people know what it is like to start from nothing and have worked all of their lives to build their businesses, pouring blood, sweat, and tears into the restaurants and shops that tourists love to visit. 

Unfortunately, now, businesses have had 67 to 80 percent or more of their businesses revenue taken from them as the government has forced them to close and has made no effort to help restaurants with the expansion of outdoor seating space as the reopening has begun. 

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