Joy Li, a fashion designer originally from New York, opened her boutique five years ago at downtown Scottsdale’s SouthBridge, just as the economy slipped into recession.
It was very, very tough because you had to have faith in knowing that this was going to get built up,” she said. “It was a learning experience to build a business by yourself when everyone else around you is disappearing.”
The four-building restaurant and retail complex along the south side of the Arizona Canal was hard hit by the recession, as numerous merchants were forced out of business.
Read more: After recession, Downtown Scottsdale's SouthBridge now ‘golden area’