ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Two local businesses that are caught in the construction area of St Pete’s new pier want people to know they are still open for business.
The new pier, which has had its launch date pushed back multiple times, is creating a big cut in business for local bar Hops and Props and the St. Pete Museum of History.
“With the roads blocked off we know people are trying to come here but when they see all the construction they think we aren’t open,” Hops and Props bar manager Mark Georgieff said. “We usually have about 1,000 people a week in the bar but with construction, it’s down to about 250 people a week.”
Next door, the St. Pete Museum of History isn’t doing much better.
“In the beginning of construction when it first started we expected attendance to drop by 50-percent and it didn’t right away. But now, it has dropped more than 50-percent more than a year later,” Executive Director of St Pete Museum of History Rui Farias said. “When it’s done and over we will be in the six-figure losses from it. But, the thing we want to get out now is to let people know we are still open.”
The city of St. Petersburg said they are helping spread the word that both the bar and museum are still open but beyond its a process every party knows is a long term investment.
“We’ve had our eye on the prize and are willing to weather the storm. When the pier opens, if it brings the 1.7 million people that’s projected to walk in front of our building by then it will definitely be worth the trouble we’ve been through,” Farias said.
“We’re just going to roll with the punches I guess,” Georgieff said.
Construction on the new pier has been pushed back a few times with the latest estimate to open set for Spring of 2020.
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