2 Lake Norman restaurants plead for help after road project keeps customers away
Habibi Lebanon Bar & Grill has been in “high demand” since opening two years ago on South Main Street in Davidson, but executive chef/owner Nazira Atme said she now worries about its future.
A state road project that’s created mind-numbing traffic snarls and angry and confused drivers led to a $20,000 drop in business last month, Atme told The Charlotte Observer at her restaurant Tuesday in the South Main Square retail center.
“We are hanging on a thread,” she said. “We need help. How, we don’t know.”
“People are getting more frustrated” by traffic jams caused by the project, Robert McCrary, owner with his wife, Eileen, of the Crazy Pig BBQ Taphouse next to Habibi Lebanon.
While his loyal patrons continue to come in for workday lunches, McCrary said, he’s noticed more couples staying away for dinner because of the traffic mess.
The project came as a shock, he said.
“We were just doing business, you know, having a good time,” he said. “Then we get an email: Next week, the road will be closed indefinitely.”
“So as time goes on, it’s just going to be like, ‘Forget it,’” McCrary said, referring to the general public. “‘Don’t even bother going over there.’”
Two complementary road projects
A state contractor closed South Main Street/N.C. 115 to the south of the restaurants in mid-March, The Charlotte Observer reported at the time. Heavy equipment rumbled away on what is now red clay, no longer road asphalt, at the site Tuesday.
Virginia-based Caton Construction Group closed the road and shifted traffic to Potts Street in Cornelius. The work aims to connect planned roundabouts and install a waterline, pavement, curb and gutter, sidewalk and a drainage system, according to a March 5 North Carolina Department of Transportation news release.
Under a railroad bridge, two Caton crews are focusing on storm drainage related to water/sewer line work, NCDOT spokesperson Jen Goodwin said Wednesday.
“This work poses a challenge as we need to connect the existing storm drainage system and integrate the water/sewer connections from three distinct directions,” Goodwin said in an email.
Several “stakeholders,” including Charlotte Water and a nearby school, “are involved in the coordination,” she said.
“Crews have established a detour and are phasing work to help direct traffic around the work area,” Goodwin said. “Work is anticipated to wrap up in the South Main Street area toward the end of summer.”
N.C. 115, Potts Street realignment
Caton is completing two complementary projects as part of the contract awarded by NCDOT in late 2023. Both aim to reduce congestion, according to the NCDOT project page.
The first project is a roundabout at N.C. 115 and Potts Street in Cornelius, replacing a T-intersection.
The second project will join Potts, Sloan and Beaty Streets in Davidson and create a parallel route to N.C. 115.
A roundabout also is planned at the existing Sloan/Beaty/Griffith streets intersection.
Both projects should be completed late this year, according to NCDOT. Landscaping and adding vegetation will stretch through spring 2027.
“Pressuring the small business”
Habibi Lebanon has received “a lot of no-shows, a lot of cancellations” since the work began, Atme said. “We’re getting all nervous. If it goes on, and they continue like that, they’re leaving us with no choice” but to close or relocate, she said.
“We are declining,” she said. “Everything we worked hard for. They are pressuring the small business.”
McCrary said business owners would like to brainstorm solutions with town officials. “We haven’t even sat down with anybody from the town,” he said.
The town posted a video on Instagram in late April highlighting a dozen businesses along the affected stretch of South Main Street.
“Hey, this is Rusty Knox, mayor of Davidson,” the mayor said in leading off the video. “I’m standing down on South Main Street, which is still open, just like all the businesses are. Why don’t you come on down and support them like you’ve always done? Looking forward to seeing you here.”
McCrary said his restaurant and other businesses need more support than a one-time social media video. For instance, the town could consider giving grants to businesses to help them make it financially through the year, he said. Or it could work with landlords on rents for affected businesses, he said.
McCrary said South Main Street has “always been sort of the stepchild of the town, anyway. Main Street is the main focus. If you’re not on Main Street Davidson … “
Atme completed the thought.
“ … you’re the poor child for Davidson,” she said. “Look in Davidson, how beautiful and pristine the signs and how much money is spent. One sign that they could put up: ’Come into South Main Street.’”
“For a small business, I’m doing everything I can since we opened Habibi Lebanon, but they forget about us down here. Direct people that we exist down here. We are still people with businesses, (but) nothing.”
Town help for businesses
The town has taken numerous steps to assist South Main Square businesses, town spokeswoman Betsy Shores said Wednesday. Besides the video, she said, the town:
• Asked NCDOT to place all detour signs out of the road “to keep South Main Street clear, keep traffic moving in both directions, and allow customers, employees, and deliveries to reach all businesses,” Shores said in an email.
• “Placed a digital trailer sign on the Wells Fargo driveway that reads ‘Businesses Open’ on the first screen, ‘Local Traffic Only’ on the second screen.”
• “Allowed additional temporary signage and banners in the area.”
• “Blocked off the on-street public parking spaces on Eugenia Street starting Friday, March 13, to allow for the increase in traffic and allow for traffic to be able to move and not get stuck and cause additional problems on South Main.”
• Has Kim Fleming, its economic development director, meet regularly with the businesses to address concerns.
• Had town police monitor traffic with drones and personnel. “The longest wait time during peak hours was 3 minutes,” Shores said.
• Uses South Main businesses “for Town needs where appropriate,” including catering from Habibi Lebanon, Crazy Pig and Gigi’s Gelato, and printing by PostNet.
• Scheduled a Music & Makers concert at South Main Square for Saturday, May 30, on the outdoor stage at the Crazy Pig, and offered to have more events at South Main Square, including smaller concerts and pop-up markets.
Shores said merchant ad grants are available to subsidize local merchant advertising.