NOGALES, Ariz. — Jorge Felix has been running a clothing and hat shop in Nogales along the popular Morley Avenue strip for almost 30 years. But he told 12News he’s struggling to keep the doors open.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, vehicle traffic in the Arizona border city is up, but the foot traffic is still down post pandemic. Local shop owners like Felix tell 12News they need that to change if they want to get back to pre-pandemic sales.
Felix is more comfortable speaking Spanish.
“In this area, we sell about 90 to 100 percent to shoppers from Mexico,” his translated words read.
The day we visited with him, Felix said he hadn't sold anything as he pointed to his cash register where the number zero sat in the ring up display. He feels the problems started during the pandemic shut down.
“In the year that the line was closed, people shopped over there,” he said. Over there being Nogales, Sonora, Mexico.
The city that sits just feet away is more than 13 times the population of its Arizona counterpart. And that’s a lot of money being left south of the border.
And while many can legally cross, Felix said amid rising tensions on the border because of pandemic policies like Title 42, it’s not worth the hassle for shoppers to do so. What he’s told is that “they say they get asked a lot of questions. Like do you have money to buy, if you are going to buy.”
And because of that, he said Nogales’ local economy is stagnant while Nogales, Sonora is thriving.
12News looked up state data and it showed city tax revenue was up over the last few years. City tax revenue totaled roughly $11.5 million in 2021 and was up more than $2 million in 2022. But Felix said the shops up and down the street aren't seeing that.
Meanwhile, Nogales Mayor Jorge Maldonado is hopeful the numbers will continue trending up. He said the key is collaboration with the county and sister city across the border.
“That way we could make businesses and open it up for everybody. Where the border will be a good place for everybody to come,” Maldonado said.
Lisa Morris came to Nogales to shop from just outside of Tucson.
“I just see friendly people who are happy to like have you come down here and buy things,” she noted.
But that may not be what others see. Maldonado said there’s a misconception that the border city is dangerous. But he thinks much of Arizona doesn’t know "the reality" of our border.
"Our border is the safest border in the, in the world I’m going to say,” Maldonado proclaimed.
And Morris agrees.
“It’s always been a very pleasant and enjoyable experience for me that I have no fear and no real concerns so," she said. "I hope it stays like that.”
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