After three years, major construction on Main Street is nearing completion. Main Street business owners said the projects, coined Main Street Improvements, have impacted their sales.
The last project of the initiative, which includes new sidewalks, curb replacements and new plants, is set to finish before the Evanston Main Street Fall Fest on Oct. 20, said Katherine Gotsick, executive director of the Main-Dempster Mile. The first phase was a water main replacement in 2021.
Squeezebox Books and Music, a book and musical record store on Main Street, has experienced fewer sales because of the construction on the street, owner Tim Peterson said.
To attract customers, he said his staff took to social media.
“We found a lot of ways in terms of marketing to our customers and social media, telling people workarounds, encouraging people to come in, telling them it’s not as bad as it seems, which is the truth,” Peterson said.
Construction has made businesses on Main Street less accessible to customers, Dotstick said. The projects are all-encompassing, including everything from streetlight improvements to new signage for businesses.
“In some cases, (businesses) had to cut hours because they couldn’t staff all their hours,” Gotsick said. “In some cases, they had to cut staff. In a couple cases, they just closed for a week because it made no sense to open.”
The Main-Dempster Mile is an economic development special service area that uses its tax funds to help local businesses. The service area hosts events to help businesses, including Touch a Truck on Main Street, which gave families the opportunity to see the different vehicles used on the street, Gotsick said. They also included business features on their social media and messages urging support for local businesses, she said.
“We did what we could, but you can’t make construction less painful,” Gotsick said.
La Principal — a Mexican restaurant on Main Street — has seen little impact on its business, owner Eric Young said.
“We’re operating at the same level,” Young said. “We haven’t had to lay off staff. We haven’t taken a big hit in our sales.”
Young accredits the minimal impact to the fact that the business receives the most foot traffic during the evening, when construction usually is not occuring.
“Aside from some dust, some logistical, (and) some parking, maybe you had to hustle every now and then,” Young said. “Just little hiccups that were involved with construction. Aside from that, we had minimal impact. I really believe that the city and the engineering crew and the construction crew were really professional, and did their best to minimize impact all up and down Main Street.”
The improvements on Main Street are meant to help make the area more accessible and safer for pedestrians in addition to giving it an updated look, Gotsick said.
Both Peterson and Young said they are happy about these improvements.
“We all know that (Main Street) needed a facelift,” Young said. “It needed that accessibility. It needed the new lights. It needed to be safer and more welcoming. I’m glad it’s here. I’m excited that it’s here, and I’m looking forward to the next 10 years of operating on Main Street.”
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