Overnight downtown construction 'killed' night business for Erin's Pub

A business owner in downtown St. John's says overnight construction work on Water Street drove patrons out of his pub on Regatta night.

City crews have been working overnight to explore what's under Water Street ahead of a big dig planned for 2016.

• Water Street overnight closures, as exploratory work begins
• Big dig nears for Water Street to replace century-old pipes

Chris Andrews, one of the owners of Erin's Pub, said because of the noise and commotion caused by the construction, his bar was nearly empty by midnight on Regatta Day.

St John's Morning Show10:43Pub goers aren't digging downtown digging

Late night construction is desirable for coffee shops and most stores... but not so much for pubs. Host Anthony Germain speaks first with Erin's Pub owner Chris Andrews and then with St. John's city councillor Dave Lane.

"At 11:20, they towed every truck off the road, they lit it up like Sprung Greenhouse and started digging holes on the street. We went from having a full house to about a quarter of a house within 20 minutes," he said.

"People were coming up to us saying, 'Sorry by's, had a great night, but can't handle this.'"

Andrews said there's no doubt the work needs to be done in the downtown, but he doesn't think there's been enough consultation with nighttime businesses.

"It's a real catch-22. Something that's got to be done, but how do you do it without it affecting everybody?" he said.

"I couldn't believe they couldn't wait until after the George Street Festival and Regatta Day and stuff to start that where we had such a horrible summer. We're all down there begging for business, and as soon as we get some nice weather, now we're into construction."

Could be better in hindsight

Coun. Dave Lane said there's been ongoing consultation with business groups in the downtown are to ensure the work didn't have an impact on businesses.

Lane added that the city decided not to do exploratory work on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights in order to minimize the impact on the nighttime businesses.

However, with the exploratory work nearly at an end, he said it's possible there may not have been enough thought about the impact on a holiday.

"In our efforts to get this project over with, rip the Band-Aid off, we might have missed something there or maybe that was the only night we could do it," said Lane.

"You know, honestly, I wish that I had thought to say, 'Hey guys, should we be working on Regatta Day?' but we need that feedback and that's why we're trying to open up the lines of communication."

Moving forward, Lane said he plans to have further discussion with business to figure out how to address the issue when the big project starts in 2016.

The exploratory work is nearly completed, Lane said, and could be done as early as next week.