A busy intersection in a historic stretch of San Antonio is at a standstill as crews tear up and replace century-old pipes. As vehicle traffic comes to a halt, foot traffic that kept local businesses alive has also stopped. In what is supposed to be the beginning of the busy season, tables are being left empty without warning, local businesses tell MySA.
The fall and winter seasons are when Volare Restaurant – a half-century San Antonio staple – is supposed to be its busiest. But reservations aren’t coming in or showing up, and walk-ins have dwindled. Volare owner Eder Muniz says the slowdown is directly linked to the closure of the intersection of East Hilderbrand and McCullough avenues – the intersection directly in front of his eatery inside the historic Olmos Pharmacy.
“I got here, and it was completely closed,” Muniz told MySA about the construction. “I didn’t know anything. Not even my employees knew it. And the landlord, too. My landlord didn’t know anything.”
San Antonio Water System (SAWS) is set to spend the next five months tearing up several thousand feet of aging water infrastructure. For the first two months, that work should span East Hildebrand between McCullough and Shook avenues. While this is a long-term project, it’s having immediate impacts on businesses.
Muniz says this should mark the start of Volare’s busiest season. Instead, on what should be a busy Monday, he saw only six or seven reservations – most of which canceled or no-showed.
“It’s already affecting us,” Muniz said. “Monday is normally a busy night for us … and last night was like maybe five customers all day.”
In past instances when city crews shut down lanes for infrastructure upgrades, Muniz says he received ample warning. This allowed him to offset the expected drop in dine-in customers by pushing catering and online orders. This time, he says he was left in the dark until he arrived at Volare on Monday, October 26.
Because business was just starting to pick up before construction began, he’d hired new staffers to handle the influx of customers. Now that they’ve disappeared, he’s left in a financial bind, trying to survive the blow. And he’s not alone.
Just around the corner from Volare, Pashina Pastry has been serving Ukrainian cuisine in the Olmos area for just over three years. Now, the owner and her son say construction is hurting their business, too.
“You can’t even see people – it’s almost no people coming – because of all the roads closed,” Pashina Pastry owner Olena Romanko told MySA via her son, who was translating. “Usually there’s lots of cars gathering, so in the bakery there’s plenty of customers.”
While it may feel like a deterrent, side streets remain open, allowing customers to reach these businesses while bearing the burden of infrastructure needs and repairs. Drivers can use Howard Street or Shook Avenue to cross Hildebrand Avenue, as an alternative to McCullough, and use West Olmos Drive or East Mulberry Avenue as east-west alternatives to Hildebrand.
There’s also a grid of residential streets in between that can be used to access these places, though locals have been raising concerns about this since the early announcements of the construction.
However, these two businesses are urging San Antonio residents to keep supporting them despite the traffic difficulties.
“We need all the help from our neighbors to survive these four to six months. We need all their help,” Muniz said. “We’re going to stay open and try to do deliveries on our own and takeouts. We just need the customers. We need them more than ever.”