Businesses farther down Limestone still hurting

By Roy York

Small businesses located on South Limestone are fighting to stay in the black as the Lexington Streetscape Master Plan continues to disrupt downtown travel.

Owners of businesses near the intersection of High Street and Limestone say poor planning and a lack of communication between the city and business owners has caused major revenue losses.

Liza Hendley Betz, owner of Fáilte Irish Import Shop, said she and other business owners in the area were given three weeks notice of the street closure.

When she called her council member, Diane Lawless, Lawless was not aware of the planned closure, Betz said.

Lawless was not available for comment.

The Streetscape Master Plan adopted by the City Council calls for the closing of a section of South Limestone Street from July 22, 2009 to July 1, 2010. The plan calls for renovations to the Limestone area including new storm and sanitary sewers, curbside rain gardens, water features, wider sidewalks, bike lanes and underground utility improvements.

“We like the end result. We were never against it,” said Isaac Kurs, owner of Soundbar. “We were just worried the city would not be attentive to our needs.”

Betz agreed with Kurs and said the council has done little to help her business.

Betz said before the construction started students would visit her store to buy Irish flags, jewelry and other novelties.

Beth Hanna, owner of Hanna’s on Lime, said the mess, noise and lack of clearly marked parking areas are turning people away from downtown.

“The council won’t stop making us pay taxes or rent, but they’re cutting 80 percent of our business,” Hanna said.

Kurs said parking is available at the Transit Center on High Street for those trying to drive to businesses on South Limestone, but orange cones and fences make people think the area is closed.

“There need to be signs for people saying ‘park here,’” Kurs said. “It’s really discouraging to see the disregard. We feel like we were shot in the leg.”

Kurs said he wanted his bar to be a classy, adult atmosphere that would be easily accessible for students, but the construction is affecting student involvement.

“Students are still going to want to get a burger from Tolly Ho,” Hanna said. “People will walk underground to get pizza and beer, but Pazzo’s doesn’t have gravel in front of its door.”

Every business owner insists that his or her business will remain open through the construction.

“One good thing that’s come out of this is that we’re all really close now,”  Betz said.

Betz is a member of a group of Limestone business owners that brainstorm ideas to attract customers and remind people that those businesses still exist. The group is composed of businesses on Limestone such as CD Central, Soundbar, Subway, the Tin Roof and Hanna’s on Lime

Hanna organized Hanna’s South Lime Stimulus Plan: Step One. The stimulus allows those who bring present or previous-day receipts to receive a 10 percent discount on purchases made at participating Limestone businesses. Hanna said step two was in development.

Steve Baron, owner of CD Central, said he has not seen a sharp decline in revenue, but he is worried about businesses further from campus because construction has made foot travel difficult.

“We’re all just trying to let people know that we’re doing business as usual,” Baron said.