I saw The Rescue Cafe’s post today, and it really got to me.
Seven months. That’s how long they’ve been dealing with all of this road work and everything that has come with it. How many times are they going to dig up the same hole? At least once a week its impossible to visit them or even drive by them.
From the outside, you might see the trucks, the cones and the detours and think, “It’s construction. It will be over eventually.” But imagine trying to run your business right in the middle of it for seven months.
They’ve had equipment sitting around for months, parking spaces being taken up, sidewalks blocked, traffic constantly changing, and customers having a harder and harder time getting to them.
And they still have to open their doors every day and try to run a business. What really stood out to me was that they were apologizing to their customers.
Why?
They didn’t cause this.
They aren’t responsible for the road work. They aren’t responsible for where the equipment is left or how traffic is being directed. Yet they’re the ones having to apologize and worry about whether people can get to their front door.
They’ve apparently reached out to the town and the police, but seven months later, they’re still dealing with the same problems and don’t even know how much longer this is going to continue.
That’s got to be exhausting.
Small businesses don’t have the luxury of simply waiting it out. They still have employees, bills, food, rent and all the other expenses that don’t stop just because the road outside is torn up.
So if you’re someone who normally goes to The Rescue Cafe, keep going. If you’ve never been, maybe now is a good time to stop in.
If you’ve been thinking about going but figured the road work made it too difficult, know that they’re still open and they’re asking people not to give up on them.
And if you can’t make it there, share their post. Tell your friends. Help get the word out.
Sometimes supporting a local business means making a little extra effort. After seven months, I think The Rescue Cafe deserves that effort.
They’re asking, “What do we do?” Maybe the answer starts with the community simply saying:
We’re still here. We haven’t forgotten you.
