INDIANAPOLIS — Vanessa Barnes is the owner of Vee's Sandwich Shop on West Michigan Street in Indianapolis and claims a new construction project is putting her business at risk.
Vanessa and her husband, Willie Barnes, have been operating the shop for eight years.
"This is my dream. This is what I always wanted," Vanessa said. "I like cooking, and I love my customers, and I love to make them happy through my food."
The couple said the nearly $5 million West Michigan Street Road Diet construction project is impacting their bottom line.
"We barely get seven or eight customers a day sometimes now. It used to be a time where we couldn't keep up," Vanessa said.
They joined other business owners Monday to call on city leaders to address their concerns.
"The continued road closures, congestion and lack of parking due to the road diet project has resulted in significant financial loss for businesses in our community," said Aaron Williams, owner of the NEST.
The project reduces six lanes down to one lane in each direction to improve safety for vehicles and pedestrians, adding bike lanes and more.
Owners said they welcomed the plan until their businesses began to suffer.
"We made it through COVID. We been there eight years, and we're having more of a struggle now than we did then because of this road project," Willie said.
"If just one customer a day is dissuaded from entering Super Tortas, that's 365 lost sales a year. For businesses with small margins like ours, that matters," said Robert Negron, from Indy Convergence.
The Department of Public Works told 13News city leaders have been listening to concerns, issuing the following statement:
"Indy DPW recognizes that construction is inherently disruptive but remains focused on delivering a transformative project that residents and business owners can reap the benefits of for decades to come."
And it's something the Barneses are hoping to see soon.
"We gotta keep the faith and keep on keeping on," Willie said.
The construction project is expected to be complete by the end of 2023.