North Avenue restaurants encourage people to support local establishments as construction slows down business

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- In an effort to curb reckless driving, the city of Milwaukee is adding traffic calming measures and protected bike lanes to from N. Humboldt Boulevard to N. Prospect Avenue. Local businesses say the construction is necessary, but it's affected their hours of operation.

The construction is expected to take eight weeks and is estimated to wrap up on Nov. 30. Restaurants say while safer streets mean more business, it's not the case during construction. 

“There’s no such thing truly as a normal day in the restaurant industry," said Patrick Murphy, the bar manager at Von Trier. “Them ripping up the roads and making it safe for bikes isn’t quite as scary as the pandemic, but it’s certainly slowing things down a little bit.”

The German bar has been operating under that name in that location since 1978. Recently, the business changed its hours of operation, closing down Mondays and Tuesdays and limiting its kitchen hours during the week. 

“We’re just gonna make sure to follow the trends and make sure that we’re not stretching ourselves too thin if the construction is delaying business," said Murphy. 

Just across the street at Ma Fischer's, the lunch rush is slower than usual. 

“It’s bound to deter some people from making it to this side of town, especially after they find out about it," said Joseph Klosowski, the front-end manager. 

That's why both Murphy and Klosowski are encouraging people to come out and support local businesses.

“If you love a place, you should go. Even if it's a little bit difficult," said Klosowski. “We’ve made it through worse.”

Restaurants say as long as people make their way to North Avenue despite the construction, businesses will get to keep their doors open.

“If you love a bar or restaurant, please go. Buy food, buy drinks," said Murphy.