Bureaucracy at its worst: Who’s on First?
COVID-19 has affected our existence in many ways. It shut down life as we knew it here in Imperial Valley, curfews for being out and about were set and masks became mandatory.
In the midst of it all, Anabel Lippmann took a leap of faith and started her business in Calexico. She moved from Los Angeles to Imperial Valley and with the support of her children, applied for the necessary permits in late 2019 to open Tropicana Fruit and Juice Bar and opened her doors in June of 2020. Anabel had the support of her daughters and son, Abel Jr., Ambar and Bridgette in a family business venture on Highway 98 in Calexico. Her son Abel, a truck driver, provided the startup funding and her daughters helped by working alongside Anabel at Tropicana Fruit and Juice Bar. The healthy fare business was not new to Anabel. She had run a business with the same name in Los Angeles with her mother, creating a menu of delicious fresh options for customers and eventually taking over the business. She married in the early 2000s and placed the business in her husband’s name for personal reasons. Anabel and her husband built up the business from 2002 to 2012. Unfortunately, the marriage began to crumble and led to an acrimonious divorce.
“My ex-husband deliberately stopped paying the rent and utilities,” Anabel explained quietly. “The business we worked on for so many years was lost.” She and her daughters moved to Calexico and her son Abel Jr. encouraged her to start up Tropicana Fruit and Juice
Bar in Calexico. “My son invested in our business so I brought the name back home,” she explained. Despite the pandemic and the health restrictions, she successfully launched her business, located on Highway 98 next to El Sol Market. The delicious shakes, smoothies, fruit plates, homemade ice creams became popular with the customers.
The fledging business generated a good revenue, averaging $13,000 to $19,000 per month. Disaster struck in September 2021 when Caltrans initiated repairs on Highway 98 and restricted traffic during the repairs.
The business’ revenue dropped dramatically from the moment construction began. The stone barriers not only restricted traffic patterns, it restricted public access for several businesses in the same area. Anabel showed me pictures of Caltrans vehicles parked in the limited parking area in front of Tropicana, actions that further prevented customer access to the business. Anabel and other businesses impacted along Highway 98 faced further problems when the subcontractor(s) Caltrans hired filed for bankruptcy suddenly and repair work stalled for over a year. “We did everything we could to keep going. We sold at farmer’s markets and other public events in Imperial Valley,” she said. “We were barely making it.”
Anabel’s son, Abel, continued to financially support his mother’s dream and loaned her money to tide the business over, and an aunt loaned her several thousand dollars to meet the cost of utilities. Many months passed by before Caltrans finally awarded the stalled road repairs contract and the repairs resumed on Highway 98. The relief Anabel felt in seeing the repairs on the north side of Highway 98 finish were immediately dashed when she discovered that the traffic restrictions would continue for repairs to the south part of the highway.
Anabel appealed to Calexico’s civic leaders for help, seeking relief from mounting debts that were piling up. Calexico Councilmember Raul Ureña listened to Anabel and promised to try to help her find emergency or COVID-19 business relief funding. The Fruit and Juice Bar got support from Ureña and other council members when they provided social media support and personally funded free drinks to create awareness of the business’ struggles.
Several months passed and the funding Ureña sought to help Anabel’s business fell through. “I don’t blame him (Ureña), he was doing what he could,”
Anabel said, her voice breaking. “I don’t know that I will be able to continue,” as she cited the debt accumulated on the rent and operation costs. Ironically, Anabel was informed that the Fruit and Juice Bar would not be eligible for funding for COVID-impacted business because it was launched after the pandemic started and was not an established business in 2019. One of her daughters left for Los Angeles seeking work and was hired by Amazon, so now Anabel has only Bridgette to help her. A GoFundMe account was set up for Anabel’s business in hopes of helping her out but the accumulated debt of over $7,500 in rent and utilities in arrears seems insurmountable.
On January 18, Anabel received a 30day notice of eviction despite her efforts to reduce the debt through spaced out payments. Her son, Abel, is not able to continue supporting her business because his own trucking contracts have reduced revenue now as well. “I don’t know what is going to happen after we close,” Anabel said. “I have hopes of starting again somehow. ...maybe this fundraiser can help but I am not counting on the money either.”
It saddened and frustrated me to hear Anabel’s story and the inability of the state, county and local government to provide some relief for business owners in Anabel’s shoes. The fact that she and other businesses that started up in 2020 are denied debt relief is bureaucracy at its worst.
I provided Ms. Lippmann information on how to reach Calexico council members, local nonprofit agencies that help with legal matters and explained how local government works. There are policies and procedures to follow which bewilder the average citizen. It appears that there is nobody in charge of helping business owners in the same place as Anabel in Calexico.
Calexico’s mission statement is as follows: “Together, we pledge to provide effective and efficient services in a courteous and respectful manner to improve the quality of life for all, in our unique border community.”
Let’s get it together, Calexico.