TeddyFabz owner Ted Spear is not sure if current Lake Cook Road construction, which began April 15, is having a bigger impact on his business than the first phase of the road work did two years ago.
“It’s pretty darn close,” Spear said Friday comparing the current situation to the one in 2011. “I’m 25 to 30 percent down.” With business off, he does not feel a promotion is in order. “I wish I could do something.”
Earlier: Lake Cook Project Shows Flexibility
Spear is not along. DC Sarnies, located next to TeddyFabz on Lake Cook Road, is feeling the affect too. The eatery had barely opened two years ago when the work began and he did not compare.
“Lunch has definitely been slower,” General Manager Keith Butts said. “Dinner is a little less too. People are (arriving) a little later for dinner. They must be waiting for Lake Cook to calm down.”
DC Sarnies has tried to beef up its carry out and delivery business to ease the burden. “People can call in and give us their credit card,” Butts said. “When they get here we run it out to their car.”
Delivery is harder for the restaurant. “Our driver has to figure out the best route to avoid Lake Cook Road,” Butts said. Music is also offered between 7 and 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday.
Donna Price, who owns Cre8 Creative Workshop on Lake Cook Road, knows business is a little slower too. “I don’t know if it’s because of construction or I’m relatively new,” she said. “Customers tell me about the traffic so it has (probably) kept people away.”
The Village has been encouraging residents to patronize Lake Cook corridor business. “We’re currently looking for creative ways to promote commerce in this area,” Deerfield Project Manager John Guccione said last week.
Guccione is the Village’s liaison to the project devoting all his time to it until complete. “We’re doing our best to encourage residents to go there so they can still enjoy (the businesses) when then project is done.