River North

Small Businesses Suffering After Riots, Coronavirus Pandemic

As Chicago businesses continue to clean up from the weekend riots, some fear they will never reopen again.

NBCUniversal, Inc.

As Chicago businesses continue to clean up from the weekend riots, some fear they will never reopen again.

Small businesses, like X5 Cuts Barbershop in River North, are being forced to make tough decisions.

The small barbershop needs around $100,000 to repair damage and recoup what looters stole.

Co-owner Mike Khateeb tells NBC 5 looters smashed all his windows, stole his security camera system and TVs, and even took his barber chairs.

Khateeb had long dreamed of owning his own shop in downtown Chicago. The shop was already suffering from the coronavirus shutdown that forced the shop to close for two months.

“It just hurts so much. You spend so much time building from scratch,” Khateeb said. “That was my golden location. That was my dream.”

Good Samaritans helped to cleanup the mess left behind by looters over the weekend.

X5 Cuts is holding a fundraiser.

“This is not the answer. Looting and breaking and destroying peoples’ stuff is not the answer. The answer is, we all stand together with one voice and make it heard. That’s the answer,” Khateeb said.

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