Behind the Headlines is sponsored by Nelligan Law. In this Behind the Headlines podcast episode, OBJ publisher Michael Curran speaks with OBJ editors David Sali and Peter Kovessy about some of the week’s biggest local business stories. This is an edited transcript of the panel discussion. To hear the full interview, please watch the video above. Prefer an audio version of this podcast? Listen to it on SoundCloud or Spotify. MC: More than a year into the pandemic, many Ottawa neighbourhoods have regained a sense of normalcy. But downtown Ottawa looks anything but normal. In fact, the city’s central business district looks the same as in the early days of the pandemic. Every office tower seems cavernous and empty, giving rise to a legion of forgotten retailers and service businesses searching for answers. Peter, despite all the good news we’re hearing about vaccines, few people are predicting that workers will be rushing back to offices. While there are no easy answers to the challenges facing these small businesses that cater to office workers, what are some strategies that could help them out?