Café Bixby, on the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Roosevelt Road, has reported a 20-percent drop in revenue since the repaving project began.
BY NICK DIAMANTIDES
Staff Writer
The repaving of Atlantic Avenue between Bixby Road and San Antonio Drive is just about finished, and none too soon, according to Jack Skandalakis, owner of Café Bixby.
“Business always slows down in January and February after the holidays,” he said. “But the big slow down for us came after March 22 when they started the repaving project on Atlantic Avenue.” He explained that between the beginning of the project until now his business has dropped by 20 percent. “That amounts to about $60,000, which is a big sum,” he stressed. “At the same time, our expenses have continued to rise. Produce, meat, paper goods, energy, and insurance cost more now, and losing so much revenue has created a real hardship in my business.”
He bemoaned the fact that for some time there had been only one lane in each direction on the portion of Atlantic Avenue that crosses Carson Street. “That creates a traffic jam that most people want to avoid at lunchtime and dinnertime,” he said. “I hope the road construction will be completely done soon so that things can get back to normal.”
Skandalakis insisted that the repaving project has hurt his business far more than the economic recession. “High-end restaurants have been impacted by the economy, but this is a family restaurant, and we have many customers that have been coming here for many, many years,” he said. “Now, a lot of them are going to other restaurants because they don’t want to deal with the traffic.”
He explained that his lunch business dropped dramatically. In addition, many of his senior patrons became confused by the detours and went elsewhere for breakfast, lunch or dinner. “The construction workers closed off access to my parking lot for four weeks,” he noted. “They put in a steel plate to allow people into the lot after I complained, but it was too little, too late.”
Skandalakis added that many restaurant patrons are creatures of habit. “If some of my regular customers get accustomed to dining at another eatery, they may never come back to Café Bixby,” he said. “It has been three months since the road construction began. I just hope we will get our customers back.”
He noted that he has not had to lay off any of his employees. He did not replace two workers who resigned, and he has reduced the hours of all the others. “That makes it hard on them because they have mortgages and bills to pay too,” he said.
Skandalakis also complained about the construction dust that has coated his building and ornamental hangings. “When the project is finally done, the businesses on Atlantic are going to have to do a major cleanup,” he said. “I hope the city or the redevelopment agency are going to help with that. I also hope they put full-page ads in the local newspapers to let people know the construction is done and Bixby Knolls is open for business and traffic is back to normal.”
Blair Cohn, executive director of the Bixby Knolls Business Improvement Association (BKBIA), said the entire project is expected o be completed by July 9 or 10. “The paving and the striping are done,” he said. “All that is left now are the pavers, and they are installing those now.” He explained that pavers are decorative bricks being installed in the crosswalks at Carson and Roosevelt streets. “The construction company expects the pavers to be completely installed by July 8,” Cohn said. “Then the crews will just go through the entire project to fine-tune it and repair any nicks or other minor damage done to anything.”
He said the project will be completed and all crews and equipment gone before the July 11 Bixby Knolls car show.
Cohn acknowledged that businesses in the area have suffered a loss of revenue during the road construction. “Any time you have a major project like this that creates traffic jams and detours, businesses will suffer,” he said. “But now that it’s over, we are expecting more people to come to Bixby Knolls because it is a more attractive area.”
He noted that he will ask 8th District City Councilwoman Rae Gabelich about the possibility of the city helping businesses with dust cleanup and also paying for ads announcing the project’s completion. “We are also going to have a grand reopening ceremony— probably in August— to help publicize the completion,” he added.
Cohn said he is looking forward to the crews and equipment being gone, but at the same time he is very thankful for the work they did. “We are already getting comments on how great it looks and how quiet the street is now,” he said. “This was a major step in improving the Bixby Knolls business area, and now we have to keep moving forward to make it successful for everybody.”
