Short-term pain. Long-term gain.
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on November 9, 2014 1:50 AM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Owner Kathleen Harrington talks with a customer behind the counter of Yum Yum Cafe. Ms. Harrington, who opened her business shortly after the second phase of Streetscape began, feels that the construction and parking woes it has created are affecting not only her business, but others around her.
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Downtown Goldsboro's Streetscape project is well into its second phase -- and local business owners are trying to balance the excitement of a whole new look for the downtown area with the concerns about what the waiting will do to their bottom line.
The current construction site is on the west side of Center Street, which includes several established and a couple of new businesses. It is the first real test of the impact of the construction since the first phase of the project was very limited and affected only a couple of storefronts.
Those who are being impacted by the second phase say they are looking forward to the end of the project.
"You want to know how I really feel? It's terrible so far," said Kathleen Harrington of the Yum Yum Cafe at 109 S. Center St. "We're hurting. It's not just one, it's everybody. The people we pay rent to don't take into consideration that the street is messed up. We still have to pay them. The bills don't stop just because the street is torn up."
Ms. Harrington said customers are having trouble getting to her cafe, and that when they come downtown, people are confused about parking as well as accessing businesses along the west of the street.
She said she knows city officials say the project will be beneficial in the long run, but she said they should provide businesses with some type of help or incentive to stay open.
"We need to be able to stay open, or else if all the businesses close because this hurt them so badly, it's no better than before Streetscape happened," Ms. Harrington said.
The first phase of Streetscape, which was completed in 2012, primarily involved the area in front of City Hall.
The second phase of Streetscape began in the middle of August. Goldsboro received a $10 million TIGER V grant from the federal government, which provided funding for the completion of the project.
Wendy and Denny Town opened their business, Town's Antiques at 107 N. Center St., on the southbound side of Center Street earlier this month.
"I'm looking forward to it being done," Town said. "With the construction, it was a little hard to get all this stuff in here, but I'm ready to see what it will be like when it's finished."
Businesses on the east side of Center Street are taking notes from the experiences of business owners across the street, learning what they can and preparing for the project to come to their side of the street.
Yvonnia Moore of The Ice Storm at 116 S. Center St. said she and partner Antonio Williams are being proactive to combat any potential negative effects the Streetscape project might have.
"We're trying to get more communication with customers mainly," Ms. Moore said. "We may go out to the curbside and do curbside sales if we have to or even delivery. It's all about accommodating the customers."
Kalilah Mischeaux, owner of The Village Rising at 114 S. Center St., has been in business a little more than a year. Her shop features locally and globally made goods.
"Business has definitely slowed down in the past few weeks," Ms. Mischeaux said. "The regulars still come in. We're just going to have to make it over this hump. We need to hold out for the end result and swim the sharky waters."
Ms. Mischeaux said all of the downtown business owners are keeping cash circulating between their businesses to help one another stay afloat and to look out for each other.
"You have to think, 'How proactive can I be?'" Ms. Moore said. "You can't sit back and say 'Oh, well it's coming. I don't know what we'll do.' Now, the people across the street didn't have that advantage, and we are so thankful that we are able to learn from their experiences. They had to just go with it."