SPOKANE, Wash. – On Monday, the city of Spokane closed all lanes of the Washington Street bridge, with hopes of opening them back up in four weeks.
This is part of their summer-long project that .
Whenever there is construction near the downtown core, there’s a good chance that local businesses will be affected. Kirstin Davis with the city of Spokane says they do what they can to tell businesses in advance of their construction plans if it will affect them, but there is not always anything that the city can do.
Nonstop Local spoke with the owners of 4am and Bark, A Rescue Pub, two businesses within a few hundred feet of the construction project, about how they have been affected.
Christian Jones owns 4am. He was raised in Texas but moved to Spokane to start a business, where he sells vintage clothes.
Jones says he did not realize how much this location would rely on the bridge being open for customers to get access. He says on days when the bridge is closed, his store is noticeably emptier, costing him hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.
Specifically, he sees fewer walk-ins, especially out-of-town visitors staying in the downtown core. Jones says the construction can be demoralizing for his customers.
“I have had people come in and say man, it was so hard to get here,” said Jones.
Jones says he hopes his customers don’t forget about him while the bridge is closed; a message that Davis echoed.
“If you really like that restaurant or that retailer, make extra effort to visit them during those hard times,” said Davis.
Josh Wade with Bark, A Rescue Pub, says the bridge being shut down has had a similar impact on his business, which is even closer to construction that 4am.
Wade says when the bridge was shut down to one lane like it has been for most of the summer, he’s noticed between 20-30% fewer walk-in customers on a daily basis than before construction.
Wade says this has been hard on them financially, which is why they have started doing things a little differently.
While the bridge is closed down, Wade is expecting to staff 40-50% fewer employees than during their peak business days in the month of April.
Wade says the construction north of the bridge has not been devastating to their business, but now that it’s cutting off anyone coming from downtown, it will have an impact.
Wade is also hoping the community doesn’t forget about his business while the bridge is closed.
“Don’t forget about us,” said Wade. “We would love to continue our mission and help the humane society find forever homes for the adopted animals…”
Wade plans some strong advertising while the bridge is closed.
