Outside Cranes, a fusion restaurant in Penn Quarter, just one day before the presidential inauguration, plywood covered the windows. Signs plastered on top offered passersby a bit of a mixed message: “Please enter. We are open.”

Cranes manager Jake Fleming says that the restaurant decided to stay open this week “just because we figured maybe we’d get a little extra business due to other places being closed the past few days.”

While some restaurants, coffee shops, and pharmacies in the downtown business district have opted to open this week, many have chosen instead to temporarily shut their doors. In addition to the street closures put in place to avoid violence, food establishments are also contending with a ban on indoor dining in effect until at least January 22.

Cranes is located blocks away from a series of security checkpoints that limit the foot and car traffic in the lead-up to the inauguration, in the so-called “Green Zone.” That complicates one of the main ways restaurants make money with the current restrictions in place: takeout and delivery.

“As far as things like to-go orders and that kind of stuff, getting Doordash drivers down here has been difficult,” Fleming says.

On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, business was “actually pretty good, and then [Monday] was awful,” he says. “I’m sure today will be pretty rough as well.”

The security grip on downtown D.C. has tightened each day leading up to the inauguration. On Saturday, many residents ventured around the maze of fences and barricades. Secret Service officers told people it would only get more secure as Wednesday approached.

This weekend, people could freely walk down Pennsylvania Avenue. Many came downtown, curious to see the unprecedented security scene. But by Tuesday, with most civilians back to work, access to that famed street was limited to people with specific inauguration passes. The main presence on the streets in the business district was law enforcement and National Guard troops, followed by members of the media.

The inauguration is usually a boon for the D.C. economy every four years. Hundreds of thousands come to witness the swearing-in of the new president, and they bring their pocketbooks too, for hotels, food, and merchandise. Inaugurations generate about $3 million in District sales tax revenue alone, according to the Office of the Chief Financial Officer.

But a violent insurrection at the U.S. Capitol earlier this month has ramped up security measures compared to years past. Alongside concerns about surging COVID cases, the threats have led local officials to urge visitors to stay away from the District for this swearing-in ceremony. That means businesses hoping for a boost aren’t seeing one so far.

“If it isn’t a pandemic, it’s demonstrations, it’s rioting, it’s street closures,” says Bob Materazzi, the owner of Shelly’s Backroom by Metro Center. “This time of year, inauguration time, is historically the most lucrative sales time ever.”

Shelly’s was open for outdoor dining on Tuesday, with music blaring from speakers outside. At one point in the afternoon, the restaurant had two tables with diners. They had to go through a checkpoint to get to the downtown location.

As of Tuesday afternoon, he wasn’t sure if the restaurant would be open on Inauguration Day: “We’re kind of taking it day by day,” he says.

It’s not just restaurants who have grown accustomed to an inauguration bump. For the merchandise vendors, the event is usually a week-long sale bonanza, says Vinh Ngo of Abe’s Cafe & Gifts. He’s been in the business for 20 years and says his sales are down “95-99%” this year.

His shop was open Monday despite being in the high security “Red Zone” at 13th and H. Few people have stopped by since heightened security went into effect in the downtown area.

“I’d rather do something than just sit at home and read the news,” Ngo said of why he stayed open.

He had a few sales from visitors from California, Ohio, and New York. A woman from D.C. bought five Biden-Harris t-shirts over the weekend. But that doesn’t rival previous years.

“Definitely the worst inauguration we’ve seen, sales-wise,” said Ngo. “But we do what we can.”

By Tuesday, a sign in the window said that the shop was temporarily closed.