Some blame construction for customer loss

When Ed Thompson opened the new Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwich Shop on Broadway in March 2000, he expected big business and got it.

At first.

"We were doing absolutely fantastic," Thompson said. "I couldn't have asked for a better opening."

In fact, the opening was so good that the Cape Girardeau Jimmy John's won the franchise's 2000 award for the best opening.

But that was before the street work started in May, bringing to Broadway a mass of orange cones and mass confusion for drivers. The city's $2.1 million project called for widening Broadway from two lanes to four lanes between Kingshighway and Perry Avenue.

For many, business all but dried up.

Thompson, 52, waited as the work continued and kept waiting as the work went beyond the eight months originally promised. When it was finally finished in April -- four months late -- he expected business would be back to gangbusters.

But Thompson says that his business has not returned. He says his profits have dropped about 30 percent from where they were before the work.

"My momentum stopped, and once that's chopped off, it's hard to regain," he said. "We've had the wind knocked out of us."

Thompson, who spent 26 years in construction, blames the street work. People changed their traffic patterns and found alternate routes, he believes. He also suggested that there has been less traffic on Broadway.

"I didn't go in with blinders on," Thompson insists. "I knew this work was coming. But to widen five blocks? I never in a million years thought it would take that long."

Bill Mousadakos, owner of Dave's Barbecue at 1865 Broadway, says his business has fallen off, too.

"There's been a cutoff," he said. "Even since the project, traffic on Broadway's been slow. I guess they got sick of it. They wanted to widen to get more traffic, but it's done the opposite from what I've seen."

Mo Abukhudeir, owner of Kwik Pantry at 1702 Broadway, said he hasn't had a good day since the work started.

"Business went down and never picked up," he said. "It's as if they closed the street and never opened it back up. I don't know what's going on."

Less traffic

There has, indeed, been less traffic on parts of Broadway, according to traffic counts provided by the Missouri Department of Transportation. On Broadway near Henderson, the average daily count dropped from 17,312 before the work to 14,102. Broadway near Pacific had 13,666 before the work, but dropped to 10,469.

The only count that showed little change was near busy Kingshighway, which only dropped from 17,944 to 17,438.

The last count was done in September so that Southeast Missouri State University students would be included, transportation officials said.

Businesses were foremost on the city's mind as Broadway was being widened, according to city engineer Mark Lester.

"Businesses were one of the biggest concerns," he said. "It would have been easier for the contractor to shut the whole thing down and work on it one time, but we were aware of the problem that would create on businesses."

Lester said he has was not sure why traffic counts have fallen. The street is now better to drive and the signals are now coordinated.

"If traffic has fallen off, it's because people have chosen to take alternate routes," he said. "We sure had a lot of traffic when we were trying to build it. What can I say, it's an improvement. It's a whole lot better than it was before."

Not a problem everywhere

But not all businesses are having financial problems, and others that are don't blame the street work.

Dr. Patrick Ruopp, a dentist with an office at 1818 Broadway, said that businesses everywhere may be suffering, but he thinks it's because of the poor economy.

Ruopp also said he believes that McDonald's draws a lot of people to Broadway. McDonald's is currently closed while a new building is constructed.

"There are just so many factors about who drives on Broadway," he said.

Last year, Broadway Sports Cards and Collectibles was one of those businesses that was suffering as the work was done.

"Santa Claus did not come last year," manager Bill Foster said. "It killed our Christmas."

But business has returned since the work finished, he said.

The same goes for Mike Shaffer, owner of Oak Tree Furniture, 2118 Broadway.

"We've been as busy as ever, and so has the Sonic Drive-In that's next door," he said. "But we're both close to Kingshighway, so it probably hasn't affected us like it has some of the businesses farther down."

Mayor Al Spradling III said he doesn't know if anyone can blame the reduced traffic count on the construction. He said there seems to be less teen-age "cruising" than there used to be.

Business owners need to look at the overall business climate, he said. He noted that the city has seen a downturn in sales tax, an indicator that there is less spending citywide.

"I don't know if you can point one finger," he said. "There are several elements that may have gone into this."

Thompson said that he is taking a different approach to rebuilding his business. He held a second grand opening, and he's doing more marketing, spending more on advertising and sponsoring more promotions.

"We're going to survive," Thompson said. "We're not going to go broke. This is not going to kill us."

smoyers@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 137