WINOOSKI, Vt. (WCAX) – Disruptive construction had businesses barking at their municipal governments all summer long. Now that students are back in school, has anything improved?
Tul Niroula opened Vermont Curry and Cocktails in April. With COVID-19 over, and a passion for sharing authentic Southeast Asian food, it felt like the world, or rather Winooski, was his oyster, so he invited his community inside.
“You’re welcome to come to my restaurant, and many of them said like, I don’t drive that way. Annoying, dusty, lots of potholes, and there’s no parking,” said Niroula.
The city of Winooski says many of their Main Street businesses reported a 30-70% drop in revenue due to the sewage and water line replacement project, but the city manager says the construction needed to happen.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime investment that the whole community is making,” said city manager Elaine Wang.
It’s a similar story in downtown Burlington where parts of Main Street have been closed, leaving businesses completely cut off at times.
“We could feel the impact from locals for sure, we have not seen our regulars as often,” said Jehan Dolbashian owner of the Vermont Juice Company.
Dolbashian summer was steady, but now that it’s almost fall, she’s expecting a slump. But at least there’s one crowd she can always count on.
“Students really sustain us throughout the year, so we’re really excited to have them back, and not only sustain us as a business but also as teammates and co-workers,” said Dolbashian.
Back in Winooski, the story is not the same for Niroula.
With nowhere for students to park, and Niroula saying third-party delivery services tell him it’s a waste of time to pick up orders when they have to navigate destructive construction in car and on foot, he’s desperate for the city to do something.
“It’s not a very impressive arsenal, but we are doing all the things that we can,” said Wang.
The city of Winooski is partnering with several institutions to find loans, grants, donations, wayfinding, and marketing support for businesses. There’s a local stakeholder group meeting to come up with creative solutions.
“If we can just bring back more of their previous clientele, that actually would be a much better solution than trying to cobble together little bits of money,” said Wang.
The Winooski City Manager tells me that this round of construction should finish up around November, wintertime, but businesses shouldn’t hold their breath, because come next spring and summer, a new round of construction on sidewalks begins.