Small businesses ‘devastated’ by Topanga Canyon Blvd. closure

Dozens of small businesses are hurting due to the ongoing closure of Topanga Canyon Blvd.

“Foot traffic has changed due to the closure, which I am devastated about,” Rachel Swimmer, owner of boutique Fairytale Cottage , told KNX News’ Emily Valdez. “We are new here in the canyon. We just opened in November, so it’s definitely a bummer.”

The roadway has been closed since March due to a massive landslide. With the slide still considered active, Caltrans estimates the Topanga stretch won’t be cleared until this fall at the earliest.

Connie Levine’s artisan ceramics and jewelry shop Kinship Station is among the businesses feeling the impact of the reduced traffic.

“We’re down, I mean, really 60-70%,” she said. “So if you talk about extending this through the summertime, that’s detrimental. This is something that is of urgency and we're asking the state to please come up with a better plan in order to get that cleaned up.”

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Levine said she thinks a summer-long closure will force a few shops to close, especially those that were already struggling after the pandemic. She’s urging people from the San Fernando Valley and Westside to make the trek up to the canyon and go shopping to support the local businesses.

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