Roadworks "are killing trade" says Athlone coffee shop owner

A coffee shop owner on Athlone's Mardyke Street has voiced frustration at the impact the current roadworks on the street are having on trade, saying they are putting the future of his business at risk.

Conor Hamill, one of the owners of Slow Roast Sandwiches & Coffee, took the decision not to open today (Wednesday). Instead a notice was posted on the door which read: "Closed for today - roadworks are killing trade!"

The streetscape works on Mardyke Street began in March and will see it remain closed to traffic until the end of August, with work to pedestrianise the neighbouring Sean Costello Street following later in the year.

Speaking to the Westmeath Independent this afternoon, Conor acknowledged the long-term benefits of improving the streetscape but said more should be done to support businesses in the area in the short-term.

Slow Roast opened in Athlone last August, and Conor said that, while the rise in the cost of living had affected everyone, business here was slowly starting to pick up before the streetscape work commenced on March 20.

"Once the roadworks started it was a complete disaster. We had been building up a little bit of a morning trade, maybe 10-15 coffees from 9 to 10, and people coming in for a few early sandwiches.

"It went from that to having maybe five or six people walk through the door in the first two and a half hours of the day. That was solely down to us being surrounded by cones and barriers for as far as the eye can see."

He said a request had been made to Westmeath County Council for some large signage along the traffic barrier to Mardyke Street, which would include the logos of the businesses on the street to remind the public they were trading as normal.

Some five weeks on this signage has not materialised, and instead two "tiny A3 signs" had been erected with "business as usual" and the logo of the contractor for the works, John Cradock Ltd, on them.

Conor added that local councillor Vinny McCormack had asked whether commercial rates might be waived or reduced for businesses on the street, but was told this wouldn't be possible.

"The word came back that the council could set up a payment plan if we wanted, but they wouldn't be waiving any of the rates," he said.

"It's only a small figure to them, of around €700, but the impact this is having on us is way more than €700."

Slow Roast has another branch in Loughrea, which is doing well, and Conor said he was hoping the Athlone outlet would be similarly successful as both were providing the same high-quality offering to customers.

"We had been really looking forward to our first summer trading in Athlone, to see what the town had to offer when there was a bit more tourism and life around the place, but that's been completely stolen from us.

"The (streetscape upgrade) will be great when it's done, but you have to do a bit to help people survive until it is done. That's the piece that's killing us.

"You can do this work, and it's brilliant to see money being spent on the town. It is causing disruption, which will end eventually. I just hope we don't end before that time comes," he said.

He added that he got on well with the workers from John Cradock Ltd who are carrying out the project, some of whom had become customers of the shop, and his frustration was not directed at them.

"We just want to make people aware that we are still open and trying our best. We're working hard, and when there's no-one coming through the door it's really annoying."

The €4 million streetscape project is scheduled to continue until March 2024, and will include an overhaul of the junction at Pump Lane and the pedestrianisation of a section of Sean Costello Street, between Flannery's pub and Mardyke Street.