San Jose’s zealous efforts to move homeless people out of Columbus Park and into motels over the summer has inadvertently impacted one business owner who might have to close.

Bernadette Garcia, owner of a longstanding Mexican restaurant, Los Garcias, said the city never informed her of its plans to convert the neighboring Alura Inn into a homeless shelter. The city repurposed the motel to house former Columbus Park residents who moved in in September. In the process, the city put up a fence in August that cut into the eatery’s parking. The restaurant and motel share a small parking lot. Now Garcia said there’s not enough spaces to accommodate her customers, causing revenues to drop by half.

“We should have at least been told what was going to transpire,” Garcia told San José Spotlight. “

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