Construction on 96th and Allisonville Road creating challenges for local businesses

FISHERS, Ind. — Major roadwork along 96 ^th Street and Allisonville Road has been creating headaches for businesses for months.

Now, some of those businesses said they are worried they may have to close down for good.

“Right now, we’re bleeding money,” A2Z Cafe owner Gine Rosenow said.

It has been a difficult three months for businesses near the intersection. As roundabout construction drags out, restaurants like A2Z Cafe aren’t quite filling up like they used to.

“On a normal average weekday, we would get maybe 75 people a day,” Rosenow said. “It dropped immediately to 55 and some days there were only 45.”

Rosenow said the number of customers has dropped by 27% since May. She said the lost dollars and cents started adding up pretty quickly.

“Upwards to $12,000 to $15,000 a month that we lose,” she said. “I don’t know if people can grasp how huge that is to a small business.”

Rosenow said she had taken a few items off the menu to save some extra money. She and her husband also cut back on the restaurant’s operating hours starting back in June.

“We’re traditionally open until 2 p.m. but it made no sense for us to have staff for another hour without any revenue coming in,” Rosenow said.

It is not just A2Z Cafe taking a hit. Other shops and restaurants just down the road like Kabab Grill said they are suffering the same.

“As soon as the construction started, we had a huge drop in business,” Kabab Grill server Lulu Denney said. “It was really slow. And things have picked up a little bit more, but it hasn’t returned to what it was.”

Denney, who has worked at the restaurant for a year, said it has been especially difficult for the business’s new owners.

“We’ve been here for a while, maybe two and a half years,” she said. “But our management is new. They’ve been here maybe four months, so pretty much as soon as they came here this construction started. So, they’re kind of having a tough time.”

The roadwork comes with some detours and delays in the area, which of course brings traffic issues, especially for drivers traveling from the east. Businesses said there are still other ways around, however.

“Go down Hazeldell, Gray Road or Keystone,” Rosenow described. “It all lands here at 96 ^th Street.”

The work is expected to be done by the end of the year. Rosenow said she is worried she will not be able to keep doors open that long unless something changes.

“We want to make sure we keep going until everything is exhausted,” she said.

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