Dubuque Street businesses anticipate recovery as construction ends and students return

As the South Dubuque Street reconstruction project in Iowa City nears completion, business owners along the impacted stretch are welcoming the end of construction-related disruptions. On Aug. 30, the street fully reopened to pedestrian and vehicle traffic, just in time to welcome University of Iowa students returning to campus. “It was a rough summer, but I'm so happy that it's finally done,” said 223 Baby Co.’s owner, Macy Krall. “It’s amazing and beautiful. We love our planter up front and our little stone bench...we’re just glad that we’re getting foot traffic again.” The city began significant infrastructure upgrades in March, demolishing the section of Dubuque Street between Iowa Avenue and Washington Street to make way for new water mains, sewer pipes, and sidewalks. To improve the area’s aesthetics and functionality, streetscapes such as planters, bicycle racks, wayfinding kiosks and improved lighting are being added as well. “It will just be the icing on the cake,” said Clare Mummey, owner of Dulcinéa.

Businesses say it will take time to catch up

“It’s nice to see sales increase again,” said Ben Mummey, Deadwood Tavern owner, of the street’s reopening. Since construction began in March, “sales have been down, numbers have been down, foot traffic has been down, but we knew that it would be, going into it,” he said. When asked how long it would take to recoup his losses, he said he wasn’t sure. “I don’t think you really actually catch up. You just have to look at each year – maybe next year will be better,” he said, adding that Deadwood Tavern remains fairly stable year-round. “I don’t think it hit us as bad as some other businesses,” said Josh Silver, co-owner of Nodo and The Dublin Underground, concerning the road closure. “We have a pretty good take-out business,” he said of Nodo, but the reduced traffic meant he had to scale back his summer hours.

However, the city was able to open the street back up in time for Taste of Iowa City, which provided a boost for his businesses. “And three home games in a row always helps the traffic and the business, so we're back on track,” he said. Ms. Krall also reported a tough summer, with foot traffic and sales plummeting by 45-55% each week. The decline severely affected the budget for the Hawkeye gear she normally stocks up on, resulting in only a third of the usual inventory, which has led to customer disappointment. “I thought it wasn't going to affect the fall, [but] now I've seen it affecting the fall, I think (it will take) almost a full year to get back to where we were, just with our bulk ordering,” she said. The focus now is working on boosting Hawkeye gear and preparing for a strong holiday season, with hopes that improved sales will continue into the summer. Having a side door that opened onto Iowa Avenue gave customers easy access to Dulcinéa, who could circumvent the construction fencing, said Ms. Mummey. “Normally that (entrance) is not utilized, so we're super lucky to have that access point,” she said. “I think it was just dicey overall, with all the fencing, it just really looked unwelcoming…we were lucky to scoop some people off of Iowa (Avenue).”

ICDD rallies around Dubuque Street

The Iowa City Downtown District (ICDD) enacted several initiatives to help the Dubuque Street businesses retain visibility and cash flow during construction. “This is our third event season with major streetscape (projects),” said ICDD Executive Director Betsy Potter, in a Feb. CBJ article. “We’ve gone through this before, we understand what this means for everybody.” From July to August, the ICDD launched a gift card incentive program to reward customers who spent $150 or more at participating businesses on Dubuque Street with a $20 ICDD gift card as a token of appreciation for their support. From this effort, ICDD reported 72 customer receipt submissions, leading to the distribution of 125 $20 ICDD gift cards, equating to over $2,500 in complimentary cards for use at downtown businesses. Overall, more than $19,200 in receipts were submitted by participants. “I definitely think that that helped, just keeping us in people’s minds,” said Ms. Mummey, of the gift card incentive. “It’s slower in the summertime, with (students) being gone.” ICDD also leased the space at 112 S. Linn St. for the affected businesses to use as a pop-up shop, and provided free delivery three days a week for the businesses. Sponsored by GreenState Credit Union, the year-round service covers Iowa City, Solon, Tiffin, North Liberty, Coralville, and West Branch at no cost to customers.

“I would literally just text them, ‘I have a customer [at] this address.’ And they're like, ‘yeah, we'll do it for you.’ So they were very, very flexible, and we utilized it at least three to five times a week,” said Ms. Krall. In addition to these efforts, ICDD also produced a social media campaign that gave a background and history of each of the businesses along Dubuque Street. “These performed very well on our social media sites and gathered a lot of positive attention around the businesses,” said Christopher Hunter, ICDD director of marketing. While none of the Dubuque Street businesses ultimately used the pop-up shop on Linn Street, it did attract a few different vendors who received significant foot traffic, said Mr. Hunter. In the final week of August, ICDD launched a "Back to Dubuque Street" promotion, distributing 10 $25 gift cards to each participating retailer. Customers who spent $50 or more in-store at 223 Baby Co., Catherine’s, Dulcinéa, Prairie Lights Bookstore and The Shop from Aug. 23-31 received a $25 ICDD gift card. "Some of the retailers hosted drawings and giveaways in their stores during the week, and they seemed to have a good response," said Mr. Hunter.