In the year On August 10, business owner Rob Creedy was happy and grateful to celebrate Pub Coffee Hub’s two-year anniversary in the Harvest Center.
That is, until he saw road workers tearing up the road next to the prosperous coffee shop. That day now marks the start of a devastating blow to the client base and successful business that Credi has built up over the past two years. While other road projects seem to be moving quickly, Harvester Avenue has lagged behind as a bumpy road, a barrier to drivers and businesses trying to visit, he said.
“Look at the other streets; they’re crushed and ready to pave. Our street is a road graveyard; it’s not drivable, there are potholes, lots of cement. They started digging on August 10th and three to four weeks later they haven’t touched anything,” Creedy said in an interview with The Batvian. “I spoke to the contractors who had excavated and they were coming back. I saw a significant drop in business. It was the planning, the execution and the quality of the work that made my blood boil,” he said.
Slow work zone
It hurts to think about the lost revenue — “you know, money that should have come in.”
“I’ll write that, I’ll never see those dollars, I’m lost. So really, I’m just focused on, even if it’s going to take a long time, we can clear the way and provide more service to their customers … and maybe put a little fire under their fists to try to finish a more urgent project.” .
After more than a month of persevering, Creedy finally got the city council and administration.
“The purpose of this email is to bring to your attention the devastating impact the current Harvester Street roadworks project is having on businesses, particularly Pub Coffee Hub. I understand this project has been in the works for two years. I have been a tenant at Harvest Center since August 2020 and since that date Until August 10th, I was not once invited to a discussion regarding the project and the inevitable impact my business would have as a result,” Creedy wrote in an email to council members and City Manager Rachael Tabelsky. “If it wasn’t for the fact that we had a direct line with the new public works director, at that time about Everything was 100 percent in the dark. Harvester Ave. Let’s not forget the 2-3 days when the main street was completely closed. How do you think the businesses on our street did that day? Does anyone care? Yes, it was a dramatic plumbing issue that needed immediate attention. What’s surprising is that the city still has zero communication and zero planning to address those who are dependent on traffic while the road is being repaired.”
Speaking to The Batavian, Credi shared concerns about the business he’s lost so far — a 42 percent drop in revenue, and that’s after experiencing nearly 35 percent growth last year. A major concern for him is the apparent lack of thought about the actual elements of Harvester Street when the road project itself was planned. Just this week, contractors dug a hole in front of the parking lot across the street and posted a sign saying the street was closed to all but local traffic.
“And nobody reached out to any of the businesses in the harvest center, or even the construction manager, to say, ‘Hey, what’s going on, this is what’s going on.’ Here’s what we can do, or ‘It would be nice to ask what we can do to make businesses less vulnerable when they go.’ So that’s the issue they’ve had a lot of times. They never did.”
Unseasonal time
His plea garnered some supporters, while council members Patty Pacino, who owns a drum studio in Harvest Center, and Tammy Schmidt, who represent the area’s Sixth Ward, agreed it wasn’t a good situation. Tabelski responded with a list of work to be done in the city, including on Harvester Street.
Tabelski contacted Department of Public Works Director Brett Frank, and “understands that he is in regular contact with you and the owners of the Harvest Center to update you on the construction project,” she said in an email to Credit. Frank said he will continue to provide updates and “we hope to complete the street project as soon as possible.”
She and others recently hiked Meherin, where a damaged concrete floor slab was reduced to rubble, and the site must be replaced with a concrete base slab before any paving can be done, she told Credi.
The Batavian reached the councilors and Tabelski. The city manager outlined the timeline and scope of the harvest project. “The project continues to progress and the city hopes to have the Harvester Avenue project completed by December 14th or sooner,” she said.
So this means it can be done from one to three months from now. Credit was not given that day, but the contractors were told that they had up to six months to do the necessary work. But he certainly didn’t think it would take that long, he said.
“The city is not looking to impose any unnecessary burden on businesses or residents on Harvester Avenue. And we are very optimistic that the new road will be a great improvement,” Tabelski said. “We appreciate the patience of the city as we are able to rehabilitate many roads during this construction period.”
Schmidt responded to The Batavian’s call for comment that she would send an email when she could. Bialkowski’s response was that it was a “contractual” issue, so he referred the matter to the city manager. No other councilors responded. As part of city protocol, councilors approve resolutions, contracts and projects related to city business.
Overload
Creedy and her colleague, Harvest Center business owner Sarah Jones, understood that road work needed to be done. But both question the length of time it has taken so far, and especially the condition of the road as they await its completion.
“People have been complaining, big groups come in, it’s like, ‘I can’t find a parking spot, I can’t even get down the road at some point.’ We couldn’t even figure out if we could get around and we couldn’t go the other way to go to the back road behind the building. It’s very frustrating. And they said we have six months to do it. Why can’t they do it in a month or is this going to take up to six months? The busiest season is winter.”
Jones has seen colleagues do something one day, then do nothing for three weeks. And when they come back, she said, “they make it worse,” and “dig a big hole.”
Sweep the road
While Creedy didn’t want to be “that angry guy” over the situation, he felt anxious and worried about how long he could keep the business going. He employs four people who work exclusively for him. He doesn’t want to lay them off until conditions improve, and he certainly doesn’t want to close up shop. He suspected that other areas of Batavia would not be associated with this one.
“As I often feel, on Harvester Street, we don’t pay much attention. “Obviously we don’t get to the main attraction, we’re off the main street,” Creedy said. But from the city’s perspective, they really only care about the downtown district, where most of the businesses are, that’s where they get, you know, funding and improvement.
Creedy appreciated the three council members’ words of support, and Schmidt’s comments that all businesses in the city should be equally important. He looks forward to the future growth of the Harvest Center and hopes that by the time he leaves, “we’ll still be there.”
Tammy Hathaway, director of the Batavia Development Corporation, enjoys spending time at the center and drinking coffee at Monica’s. By posting online, she tried to draw attention to the eastern part of the city and raise awareness for everyone there, he said. The center houses 75 businesses, including One World Projects, Vintage Antiques, House of Bounce, Brick Upholstery, Hodgin’s Publishing, Hitter’s Hideaway, and artists, a dental lab, environmental testing, and more.
“I’ve been trying to really focus on the business side; it’s one of my favorite places,” she said Friday. “I’m trying to be a good steward of the businesses … giving them a little extra attention that I can give. My biggest goal is to let people know and say, ‘Bride the storm’ and keep visiting those businesses.”
The Batavian asked if there was any type of fundraising money lost to the business yet, and he didn’t believe there was any. Meanwhile, Credi said he will remain open as long as he can cover payroll. But he’s not sure what to do when those numbers drop.
“I’m not one to complain, to make a big deal out of everything. But this project has to be done,” he said, reflecting on how things have been up until this summer. “It’s finally paying off, all the hard work, the business is booming, we’re absolutely crushing it. I couldn’t be happier. And I didn’t expect the takeoff after the construction. We’ve established ourselves, which I believe in.” “You know, it’s not easy to have a pre-eminent independent shop in a city flooded with Dunkin’ Donuts and Tim Hortons and another Starbucks coming in. And I understand why we suffer because it’s so easy for all these customers to hit one of the 10 coffee shops and try to go down Harvester Ave.”
“Traffic itself is almost non-existent. We are mainly getting people from the building and our hardcore regulars. In fact, it only carries this delivery now. We do it through DoorDash… 20 percent of our sales even before that. Now it’s probably around 25 to 30, which is great because it generates income, but it costs me a lot to pay their commission to run our delivery service,” he said. We’ve had such an amazing year up to that point that we’re kind of carrying it now. Now we don’t operate at a loss every day. If we start going into the negatives in the next couple of weeks, we’re losing money…maybe I’ll have to look again at what my plan is.
Top photo: Rob Creedy, owner of Pub Coffee Hub in Harvest Center in Batavia, said construction has so far hurt his sales and related income that he wants contractors to speed up progress on Harvester Avenue. And above, a ditch in front of the auxiliary parking lot, making potential customers useless; and continuous construction. Photos by Howard Owens.
