Railroad Avenue closure for road construction is now a worry for some local businesses

As the city of Tallahassee prepares to close much of Railroad Avenue as part of ongoing road construction, some business owners are worried about their future while others are looking forward to the roadway imrpovements.

"Since construction started, (business) has been about half as much ... compared to last year," said Racquel Pogge of NorthFlora Collective, a plant shop.

The road closure comes as part of a months-long improvement project that began last November. The entire project is set to span 12 months, broken up into phases.

Although the main entrance to Railroad Square will be blocked off, stores will still be open and can be accessed through the entrance off FAMU Way.

According to the city's website, the road closure will last a total of 45 days to allow for the installation of storm drain and water-line infrastructure and other improvements.

When the entire project is finished, it will feature a multi-use trail, landscaped medians, new pedestrian crossings, road repaving, and will better tie FAMU Way and Gaines Street together, the city says.

While the project looks to improve the safety of pedestrians, among other things, the immediate impact to businesses is being felt.

Pogge, who spoke to the Democrat during the final First Friday gathering before the road closure took hold, worries if she'll have to close her doors because of decreased business.

Lack of traffic continues to hurt Railroad Square businesses

Racquel and her husband Keith are co-owners of their shop, which they moved to Railroad Square in 2022. It's a stone's throw away from Railroad Avenue, so they rely heavily on foot traffic to bring in customers.

She said she compared their sales from January 2023 to this past January and saw that, since construction began, the numbers were down by half, possibly more. While the Pogges admit it's been hard, they said that a lack of communication from the city hasn't helped either.

"We heard it through the grapevine that they're closing Railroad Avenue," Keith said. "I had no idea. I thought they were done closing it."

A friend of theirs told them on May 3 that the road was to be completely closed off on May 6, giving them only three days to adjust. With little time to alert the road closure to their customers, they have to do what they can and pivot their marketing.

"What we've been doing is just trying to increase our social media (presence) and try to get more word of mouth and have support from our friends and family," Racquel Pogge said. "If this is going to go on for so long, I don't know how we can handle this."

At the same time, the experience of the Pogges is not a shared one by all of the businesses in Tallahassee's Art District.

Tallahassee skate shop not as worried about construction impacts

Orly Vazquez, owner of Phaze One skate shop, said he's doing just fine, though it helps that his store is right next to FAMU Way skatepark.

"I'm a destination. People have to come to me to get skate stuff, so people are still gonna come, you know," Vazquez said.

While he had no concerns for his own business, which has been a staple of the community for 32 years, he is conscious of the plight of others, noting that the closure is more than an inconvenience for many.

While the Pogges said they received no notice from the city, Vazquez shared that they have been continuously updating him: "They stayed in touch with us. They've let us know what's going on."

Both store owners had one thing in common: They want people to know they are still open and customers can still use the back entrance along FAMU Way.

City Dogs owner worried for the future of his business

Michael Robinson is the sole owner of City Dogs Café and All Saints Art Station, an homage to the All Saints Cafe which was there before he bought the building in 2002.

For nearly 22 years now, he's provided a place for people to get hot dogs for either lunch or a late time snack and "a place for the creative to go, for the student to go to see something that isn't just another hotel or chain." As part of First Friday, he had a free art exhibit going on inside his cafe.

His business heavily relies on foot traffic, but on Monday he was greeted by bulldozers and a completely shut down road.

He worries he "will have to close by summertime," Robinson said. "My revenue has pretty much dropped by about 75%, if not more ... The deck is stacked against me."

He received some recent community support through social media, which Robinson said spiked sales and helped. Leon County Commission candidate Isaac Montilla took to social media to spread the word about City Dogs.

To those in the community he says: "We're doing our best to try to stay open ... We plan on being open at least weekends, Thursday, Friday and Saturday." He promises to also still host his different art shows and live performances during the week.

Arianna Otero is the City Solutions Reporter for the Tallahassee Democrat. Contact her via email at AOtero@tallahassee.com or on Twitter/X: @ari_v_otero.

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Shop owners left to worry for future as Railroad Avenue shuts down