SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- The summer months mean peak construction time, but some South Bend businesses say the many ongoing projects are impacting foot traffic.
Inspire Me Boutique on Colfax Avenue says customers can't park out front, and people haven't been sure if they're open for business.
"A lot of people used to park on the street parking, and a lot of people call and say how do I get to your business, the streets are closed, and I say we have a parking lot in the back, and they're like you have a parking lot in the back? Yes, we have a parking lot, that's how a lot of people discovered that we have a parking lot now, which we have had forever," said Jeanne Skelton, owner of Inspire Me.
Foot traffic is huge for Inspire Me, and with a torn-up sidewalk in front of the building, Skelton says she's had to do her best to instruct people how to meander over to the boutique.
"A lot of people are going to lunch and they want to get over here, and they're like how do I get over there, and they're over at Lauber or Macri's, or something like that, and they're thinking they'll walk across the street, and I say well, you're in dirt roads, so I have to kind of direct them what sidewalks you can go to," said Skelton.
Less than a mile away on Lafayette Boulevard, L Street Kitchen is dealing with similar issues.
Harpreet Kaur and her husband took over ownership in February.
Then in early June, a fire broke out at the Lafayette Building, steps away from L Street Kitchen.
A little more than a month later, plenty of orange cones still sit in front of the restaurant.
"They'll come for a carry out order and then again, it's a bit of an issue with the parking spot, it's actually bringing the revenue a bit down," said Kaur.
The city of South Bend says the closure will exist for the foreseeable future.
But a silver lining has come from the restaurant's social media pages, letting people know, yes, they are indeed open.
"It's really helpful actually, we had the signs outside before, we just took them down because people now know that they can still come inside from the front, it's just the parking," said Kaur.
As for the businesses on Colfax Avenue, the city tells ABC57 phase one of the project will not be done by mid-August as originally planned, due to numerous underground utility conflicts.