PORTLAND, Ore. — Several downtown Portland businesses are planning on taking down the plywood on their windows following last week's election. The plywood was a precautionary measure many took ahead of election results, in fear of civil unrest.
Many businesses along Salmon and Broadway streets in downtown remained boarded up this week.
However, Jay Bleich, the owner of Bee Tailors and Cleavers, told KGW that he requested the plywood be taken down after several rallies remained peaceful over the weekend.
"It's not a very good retail presence to have boards up on your business. We have gotten a lot of calls of people wondering if we had gone out of business … or whether we have closed. And that's not the case. We are open for business," Bleich said.
Before the election, the city's Unified Command braced for potential unrest, shortly after multiple arsons targeted ballot boxes in Vancouver and Portland. Political and business leaders also urged for peaceful civil engagement, citing the area's slow-emerging resurgence after the pandemic and 2020 protests.
There is no specific timeline for when the plywood will be removed.