'It's killing me': Cabin diner sees 50% cut in business during street work

Roadwork has brought such a deep dive in business at the Cabin restaurant that the owner says he may close for the rest of July, normally his busiest month of the year.

The slump comes after last week's closure of Woodstock Road as crews replace a culvert in the area, work that is expected to take about a month.

David Halfyard said business is down 50 per cent most days and by as much as 70 per cent some days.

• Along the scenic route: Woodstock Road to close next week 
• Get ready for some detours Fredericton, as construction season nears

"It's killing me," said Halfyard. "It's one of the months that we make money."

Since the culvert work began, the Cabin has been getting 10 to 15 calls a day from customers unsure if the diner is open.

Halfyard said staff still have their regular hours and the Cabin is trying to come up with creative ways to bring in more business.

He has found this summer's difficulties especially exasperating after the positive reviews the Cabin has received over the past few years from reviewers across the country.

"A lot of people want to see what the Cabin's about, you also have the people on vacation who come back home to Fredericton," Halfyard said. "Their parents took them there as kids. It's a family tradition."

Although the weekend was busy, on weekdays the diner sees only tourists because local residents aren't driving out of their way to eat. 

"When you get rerouted from downtown … and you got to go out of your way 16 kilometres to get your lunch, that's not going to happen," he said. "The lunch issue is huge because they only have an hour."

Halfyard said he's disappointed the city didn't come up with good signs at both ends of the Woodstock Road.

From the Delta Fredericton Hotel side of the road, there's a small sign that says businesses are still open, he said, but at the other end of Woodstock Road, there's only a sign saying the road is closed. There is nothing to indicate businesses are still open.

"What can you do? he said. "Road construction has to be there, I understand it has to be there. My only problem is the signage. It is horrible."

Other major projects

Road construction is reaching its peak as projects pop up across Fredericton.

On Tuesday, Fredericton's Brookside Drive between Bramble Way and St. Mary's Street will be closed to through traffic until Aug. 25.

Greg McCann, a project engineer with the City of Fredericton, said crews are installing a new storm sewer, along with curbing and sidewalk extensions and roadway upgrades

"This is the final phase of roadway upgrades on Brookside Drive," said McCann.

Other major projects include repairs that will close Carleton Street, from Queen Street to the pedestrian walkway, to through traffic until Nov. 3.

McCann said there are three phases to the project: the underground piping replacement, the underground electrical work, and finally, to tie into the city centre plan, a paving stone surface.

The replacement of a culvert along Waterloo Row will keep the road closed to through traffic from Dunns Crossing Road to Forest Hill Road within the next few weeks and will be closed to through traffic beginning next week until Sept. 8. Traffic will be re-routed to Wilsey Road, Kimble Drive and Forest Hill Road for four weeks.

Sunset Drive remains closed between Stone Bridge and the intersection of Manresa Drive and Burpee Street. The project is expected to be completed at the beginning of October.

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