Customers, come back

COEUR d'ALENE - It's a Friday afternoon at Sully's Pub and Grill, and there are customers.

A group of five sits around a table, while two others are on stools pulled up to the bar at 5785 Government Way.

This is good. Owner Emmett Sullivan likes having folks sipping beers, chatting and laughing.

"It's nice to see," he said.

Sullivan hasn't been in a laughing mood much, at least not over the past seven months during the Government Way improvement project.

Construction began in late March and wrapped up last week. It included widening the street to five lanes and installation of new sewer lines from Dalton to Hanley.

It affected dozens of businesses, including Sully's, which saw a substantial decline in sales with streets torn up and traffic tied up, too.

"At first, it wasn't too bad. I'd have the regulars come in," he said.

But as work continued, and cars and trucks were squeezed to one lane each direction and Dalton and Government became a four-way stop, traffic turned to a slow crawl and long lines.

"People were afraid to get out of the line because they were afraid they couldn't get back in," he said.

Sully's survived, though. And Sullivan and wife Patti have high hopes for their neighborhood, Irish-American bar that's bright and clean.

The interior was remodeled in late 2010 and early 2011, and during the Government Way work, the exterior was renovated, with a new patio, vegetation and siding.

He estimates his investment, including the LID for the road work, water and sewer lines, and the building remodel inside and out, could be around $100,000.

And now that it's all done?

"It's beautiful," said Sullivan, who's throwing a "construction is over party" 1-4 p.m. Nov. 3 with free burgers and hot dogs.

He likes the new look of Government Way. With the heavy machinery finally gone, no more gravel shoulders or flaggers, he has noticed more people stopping in at Sully's.

While he believes customers will come back to Sully's for good food, cold beer and conversation, it will take time to bounce back to pre-roadwork levels.

"The trouble with the bar business, people are creatures of habit," he said. "You go to one bar, you get used to going to one bar. You don't go in to drink. You go in to see your friends."

"Those people are gone, so I have to work to bring them back," he said.

The cities of Coeur d'Alene and Dalton Gardens broke ground on the project in March. Sewer work was completed around late April, and reconstruction of the roadway began in May.

The road improvement project was funded largely by federal dollars. The city of Coeur d'Alene installed the underground lines for commercial property owners in the area to coincide with the street project.

Dalton Gardens has plans to improve the street to Prairie Avenue in the future.

Meantime, business owners are happy for the new road and smooth traffic flow.

A log furniture store, pet grooming, bail bonds, auto repair, pet supply, a bank and oil change business are all within the work zone.

Loren Walz, owner of Kirby vacuum at 6055 Government Way, said during construction it was difficult for customers to come and go.

Business did slow down a bit, he said, but nothing Walz couldn't handle.

"We have a business that people need," he said.

Some said the store front exposure on the busy arterial should soon pay dividends.

"It was bad when they paved right in front of us because you really could not get into the shop," said Samantha Richter, manager of the Locker Room Men's Sports Salon. "But we really have such loyal customers here we stayed pretty busy. It didn't hurt us like we thought it was going to."

Richter believes the project was worth it.

"I think it looks better," she said. "It's bad that we lost half our parking lot."