- Road construction on Ames Avenue has nearly eliminated foot traffic at Island Chill, a North Omaha shaved ice and tropical drinks shop.
- Omaha Public Works says the Ames Avenue redesign project is expected to wrap up in about two weeks and is aimed at reducing injury crashes in the corridor.
- Island Chill owner Shawnie Hernandez has cut staff hours and is relying on DoorDash and off-site catering to survive until customers return.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Road construction along Ames Avenue in North Omaha is taking a toll on at least one small business, with the owner of Island Chill saying foot traffic has nearly disappeared since the project began.
Shawnie Hernandez spent five years building her business one event at a time, serving shaved ice and tropical drinks from a food truck across Omaha before opening her first brick-and-mortar location.
"When we first opened, we were booming, we had two employees, and we were open seven days a week," Hernandez said.
Since construction started, that momentum has stalled.
"What has the foot traffic been like since the construction? Um, well, almost nonexistent," Hernandez said.
Hernandez says she is now relying on DoorDash orders and catering events away from the storefront just to keep the business afloat. She has also been forced to cut staff hours.
"I'm spread thin, personally. And then, so my daughter, she's the manager, as well. She's working, and we used to have another staff, but we had to cut them, cut their hours completely, 'cause we just, we're not busy. No one's coming in," Hernandez said.
The City of Omaha is completing a project along the Ames Avenue corridor to improve safety in an area studies show has a high number of injury crashes. Alyssa Smith with Omaha Public Works says the redesign project is expected to wrap up in about two weeks.
"I know that construction is really impactful, even when it's only for a few weeks, we are really hopeful that since this is happening on a pretty condensed schedule, that the impact to them will not last for too long," Smith said.
Hernandez says she believes the improvements will make the area safer in the long run, noting that speeding has long been a problem on Ames Avenue.
"There's a car that went airborne into the Hanks parking lot," Hernandez said.
Hernandez says she is holding onto hope that once construction is finished, customers will find their way back through her doors.
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