Dust is settling along the path of Norfolk light rail

InsideBiz.com

For downtown merchants, the light rail construction downtown has made the past two years a blur.

But as of last week, all the intersections downtown have reopened, so merchants can see a bit clearer now, and hope to see more people come downtown.

The opening of all downtown intersections marks a milestone in the end of the light rail construction. For the past two years, frustrated merchants have watched as frustrated shoppers bypass the downtown on account of the closed streets and orange and white barrels that made navigating the area so difficult.

“We got the brunt of it,” said Baxter Simmons Jr., owner of Baxter’s Sports Bar on Granby Street. “They closed the intersection right in front of us.”

The business suffered, not only because of the construction, but “because of the economy and the change in the overall feel of downtown, with places opening and places closing. When people are in a tight economy and have to make a choice where to go and you add the construction to their decision, they choose a different place. We just hope the long term outweighs the short term.”

At least four businesses closed during the construction РBobbywood, an upscale restaurant that closed as construction began; City Caf̩; Il Colosseo, an Italian restaurant; and another restaurant on Tazewell Street, which opened and closed as different incarnations three times.

“We probably wouldn’t have moved” had it not been for the construction, said Reid Rapoport, owner of Quality Shop, a men’s clothing store. Rapoport moved his store from downtown to 21st Street in Ghent, at the Palace Shops. “Because of the disruption that was caused by all the utility work and construction, we decided to relocate. So far, it’s worked out fine.”

Rapoport said that he will decide later whether to move the store back.

Mary Miller of the Norfolk Downtown Council said that at least 17 businesses have opened downtown in the past 15 months.

One of those business is Kebab Shack on Granby Street. Sa’id “Steve” Laghrani, the restaurant’s night manager, said the restaurant opened a couple of months ago.

“It’s not been bad,” he said. “It’s been up and down.”

Laghrani said business is best when the there is a specific activity happening downtwon, such as a show or party at the nearby Granby Theater.

“You would have to say there were casualties, but overall, the businesses survived it pretty well,” said Kevin Murphy, president of the Downtown Norfolk Civic League.

Murphy attributed that to customer loyalty.

“If you want to go to Serendip (a home furnishings store on Bute Street), there is only one location to go to,” he said. “These businesses all have a loyal customer base. Some businesses may have been down and out, but they had a lot better shot of weathering it than other businesses. They made it through the other side of the tunnel.”