A month into border reopening and downtown El Paso businesses are back bustling

EL PASO, Texas -- It's been a month since the Mexico border reopened to non-essential travel and downtown El Paso businesses are starting to see an impact.

"Hard data is still not available in terms of what has materialized since the 8th of November," Tom Fullerton, an economics professor at UTEP, said. "But most of the indicators, preliminary indicators point to increased retail activity."

Owen Len, the owner of Casareyna - a store that sells blankets, home good and carpets on El Paso Street, told ABC-7 that about 70 percent of their customers come from Juarez and he's seen a roughly 50 percent increase in sales since the Mexico border reopened to non-essential travel.

"Overall it's been way busier than it was last year," Len said.

Casareyna isn't the only store in downtown El Paso that depends on Juarenses. La Comerical, an electronic store, told ABC-7 between 50-70 percent of its clientele also comes from Juarez.

“In the store we’ve seen a lot more people," Sergio Garcia, an employee at La Comercial, said. "The store used to be empty for hours. Right now there’s no moment in which we’re not helping a customer.”