With the rebuild of U.S. 54 through Iola underway, merchants along the highway are feeling the pinch.
A survey conducted Thursday and Friday revealed most have seen business drop over the past few weeks, some substantially more than others.
Two owners expressed fears they may go under if they cannot figure out a way to drum up business, and quickly.
“I don’t see me making it much longer, at least not in this building,” Misti Kendrick of Protein Place, 7 E. Madison Ave.
“I was thinking the end of July would be the end of it, but now I’m not sure if I can make it that long.”
Kendrick estimates her sales have plummeted by 80% since construction started.
Kendrick, who moonlights as a courier for Amazon, has taken steps to make ends meet.
She delivers her protein drinks twice a day to customers unable (or unwilling) to venture downtown in search of a parking spot.
She asks clients to text the store with their order and location by 10:30 a.m, and she begins deliveries by 11.
“If they miss that (deadline), I’ll go back out by 12:30,” she said.
Still, that hardly makes up for the lost business, which relies almost exclusively on drive-up traffic.
Those who do stop by must park along South Jefferson Avenue.
“It’s just sad,” she said. “I knew there was going to be road work because I read something in the paper, and saw things on Facebook. And I knew it was going to last a while, but I did not realize the complexity of it, and that they were tearing out the entire road.”
Even worse, Kendrick notes it will be even more difficult to attract customers when the construction shifts in August to the southern half of the road, which cuts off access to Jefferson and South streets.
OTHERS are in similar boats.
Kelsey Cisneros manages MJ’s Boutique and Consignment at 113 W. Madison Ave. for her aunt, Michele Jackson.
