Olvera Street merchants struggle to survive amid the coronavirus pandemic

It was a sad sight for Jorge Contreras: rows of blue, yellow and orange puestos, or market stalls, on Olvera Street were shuttered. Nineteenth-century brick buildings that house restaurants, shops and museums were closed, too. La Plaza, typically teeming with people, was empty and quiet. “This place is not meant to feel sad,” the 55-year-old hat seller said. “It’s supposed to be a place of …