Coronavirus crunch: One city block reveals small businesses at risk

When consumers are told to stay home, the economy takes a massive hit. Our reporter visited a long-vibrant commercial street to explore the new realities that are raising doubts about small-business survival.

For a man who has lost 70% of his business, Philip Rand remains remarkably upbeat.

Then again, his company, the Philip A. Rand Wire Rope and Sling Co., has proved remarkably resilient through two world wars, the Spanish flu, the Great Depression, and the Great Recession. A couple of government contracts are currently keeping its four full-time and...