When a small business gets pushed out by a bad landlord, it's not just one storefront that goes dark — it's a signal to the whole block that there's no future there. Zac talks with Tanner Mobley, co-owner of Affogato Cat Cafe in Fells Point and organizer of the Baltimore Small Business Bill of Rights Coalition, about what's actually happening to small businesses on the ground.

Tanner shares the story that catalyzed the movement — a fellow business owner whose ceiling collapsed from an upstairs leak, whose unreachable landlord sent someone to clean up sewage with a bottle of Fabuloso, and who later discovered the landlord had filed an insurance claim in her name and kept the money. Tanner and Zac dig into the specific protections the coalition is fighting for: 90 days' notice before a rent hike or eviction, basic maintenance standards, and a vacancy tax paired with tax credits to get Baltimore's estimated one-in-four empty storefronts back in use.

They also talk through the bureaucratic maze that makes it hard to open a small business in the first place, and what's next as the coalition heads toward introducing legislation this fall.

Learn more or get involved: bmoresmallbusinessrights.com

Contact

Have a question, story idea, or feedback for the show? Reach out to Zac Blanchard's office:

• Show Website: https://blanchardbaltimore.transistor.fm/
• Councilman's Official Page: https://www.baltimorecity.gov/city-council/zac-blanchard-district-11
• Email: zachary.blanchard@baltimorecity.gov

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• (00:00) - – Why Commercial Corridors Matter
• (01:09) - – Meet Tanner Mobley & the Coalition
• (02:14) - – How the Movement Got Started
• (06:01) - – Ernestine's Story: A Cautionary Tale
• (09:50) - – The Policies: What the Coalition Is Fighting For
• (10:37) - – The 90-Day Notice Proposal
• (12:59) - – Baltimore's Vacancy Crisis, By the Numbers
• (14:32) - – A Carrot-and-Stick Approach to Vacancy
• (19:24) - – How the Coalition Is Organizing Citywide
• (23:31) - – What They've Learned Along the Way
• (28:19) - – What's Next After the Bill Passes
• (30:18) - – Closing Thoughts & How to Get Involved