Downtown businesses cope with construction
By JENNIFER WILSON
News editor
With much of downtown Hillsboro's streets reduced to rubble, it's been a little difficult driving and parking at local businesses.
How has the construction of the Main Street project, nearly a week old, affected these downtown businesses?
So far, the economic effect seems to be negligible — but that could change over a span of a couple weeks.
It is an inconvenience, most store owners say, but the final product should be worth the trouble.
At Mary's Mats and More, 107 E. Grand, owner Mary Lancaster says that overall, her business hasn't been affected much.
"It's not been terrible," she said. The store had its slow days even when the streets weren't being worked on.
So far Lancaster has been keeping busy with framing projects that people have already brought in. They'll have to make the trip to pick up their items, she said.
"I have plenty here to do," Lancaster said. However, sales of in-store items were down last week.
Most of her customers have been parking across the street in front of Emprise Bank and making their way across the "great divide," as Lancaster refers to the construction area.
The upside to the work being done on her side of the street first is that her side will also be done first.
"You have to look at it the positive way," Lancaster said.
On the other side of Grand at the Daylight Donut Shop, 111 W. Grand, owners Kerry and Kathleen Magathan haven't yet seen much difference in business.
Right now, it's just too early to tell, Kathleen Magathan said.
Since their shop is only open a select few days of the week, the time span has been too short to judge the effects. Friday's sales were average, while Saturday's were slow, she said.
Customers driving in have been parking just east of the shop, north of the First Mennonite Church. But many of their regular customers ordinarily walk in from downtown, Magathan said.
She's excited about the plans for Main Street and realizes that businesses just have to survive this part of it.
"There is no good time to do construction," Magathan said.
Businesses on Main are adjusting to the construction as well.
The Hillsboro Carpet Center, 114 S. Main, has kept steady with customers, but many of them are taking advantage of the back door entrance, said owner Neoma Flaming.
Customers who park either behind the store or at the south end of the block, across from Hillsboro Ford, have been using both front and back entrances, she said.
So far their business has been about the same — when people make it a point to get carpet, they're going to get carpet, Flaming said. But it's too early to tell if the roadwork will affect future sales.
Flaming's looking forward to the finished product.
"It'll sure be nice," she said.
On the north side of Main, at Silver Shears (106 1/2 N. Main), owner Randy Wiens also hasn't seen much of a difference in customers. Many of them park across the street and walk across the dirt to get to his barbershop, while others park in front of Emprise and just round the corner.
Wiens hasn't seen a difference in the number of walk-in customers because most of the people he serves make appointments, he said.
Wiens did have many customers wanting to reschedule their appointments during last week's rainy season, so they could get in before the streets were completely torn apart, he said.
