The Izazaga shopping mall number 89in it Historic Centeropened its doors after 48 days closedbut did so with dozens of premises closed in the 15 floors of the buildingwhich were put up for rent or sale.
Due to the long period of Suspension ordered by the Administrative Verification Institute of Mexico City (Invea) and that affected 1,600 premises, the Chinese entrepreneurs They moved their businesses to other places and they laid off their staffso the square did not return complete.
You may be interested in: Merchants in CDMX ask to regulate merchandise of Chinese origin
Two weeks ago The Sun of Mexico reported that The businesses in this square began moving to Izazaga 38another of the large Chinese markets in the Historic Center, under the idea that the closure “was going to last a long time.”
“There were layoffs and many people had to look for another job because it meant waiting without money. In other Locals They were only told that they could return, but nothing was certain. But others who did stay did so because the owners have other wineries (in the Historic Center) and we were working there,” said Luz, an employee of a wholesale toy store in the plaza.
Tenants who were selling until July Clothes, appliances, beauty products, shoes, toys and even candy, all of Chinese originthey no longer raised their curtains and in some cases left QR codes for customers to locate. Most just left without leaving any notice.
The floors where the greatest desertion is noted are the last ones in the building: 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14. However, despite the fact that other floors had more presence of tenants, they were not free from having empty premises with signs of “For rent” in Spanish and Chinese.
Despite the door seal removal main square, carried out by staff of the Invea On the night of Tuesday, August 27, there is a place that still cannot operate because it has suspension of activities seals imposed by the Ministry of Health of Mexico City.
This is the case of the premises i-1291, on the 12th floor, closed due to health risk, which was closed on June 10 by the Health Protection Agency and notifying the store owner Louis Wittonwho has been summoned by the authorities.
According to employees of the establishments that did reopen, The notice about returning to work was unexpected Well, some were notified during Wednesday night and others on Thursday morning, before 10:00.
“They had already told us that the stamps were no longer there. I don’t know exactly when, but today when I went to the winery to continue working they told me to come to the square, that they were going to open soon,” Luz said.
To all employees The notice took them by surprise, as they believed that their jobs would no longer return because It is the first time that it has taken so long to reopen Izazaga 89The previous suspension, recorded on March 15, lasted only a few days.
“I was working selling things in the Center on my own, it didn’t go very well, and last night (Wednesday) my boss called me and told me that they were going to open the position and that I should show up like before, that is, early,” he said. Yazmin, employee.
The Chinese businessmen They began to arrive in cars and electric bicycles. Minutes before 10:00 a.m. the devils also arrived full of merchandise whose boxes were inspected by the businessmen, most of them were zappliances, lamps, toys and clothes.
At 10:00 sharp, the security of the building allowed access to workers and owners and began opening the premises.
➡️ Join El Sol de México’s WhatsApp channel to not miss the most important information
“You see fewer colleagues and Locals openbut they will come back quickly, because there are many clients who have been looking for us all the time,” Luz commented.
During the first hour of operation of the site, Some customers entered the plaza and began to walk through the corridorsbut sales were still very low. “I don’t remember which floor I used to go to, I don’t know if the place where I used to buy things is still there,” said one of the first customers.