Coffee shop survived COVID-19, owner fears business will be crushed by construction

A part-owner of Mulberry Coffee House said after more than a year of barely hanging on, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, they are now faced with a new problem as the much-anticipated patio season approaches.

Chris Mindorff said just as they anticipate the reopening of their shop, which is located at 193 James St. N, the City of Hamilton has commenced construction work in the area.

"This is like devastating for us because we have one of the only patios down in that area," Mindorff told CBC Hamilton. 

"People look forward to [our patio] in the community in the summer and now this notice basically says they're going to rip up the whole street along Mulberry Street and then they're going to rip up part of James Street."

That just basically kills our whole patio season and people aren't going to want to walk down through a construction [zone].​​​​- Chris Mindorff, Mulberry Coffee House

Mindorff said the city notified people in the area about the construction after the work started.

"We get a notice dropped in our store ... the notice is basically dated May 19 and it said that the project is going to begin May 17," he said.

"So, if you can imagine that, you're getting notice after something has already started."

Mindorff said he was told by the project manager that the work would last two or three months.

"That just basically kills our whole patio season and people aren't going to want to walk down through a construction [zone]," he said.

"So, we're in this urban core that's just been devastated."

Business down 90% over course of pandemic

Mindorff said business has been down 90 per cent over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pre-COVID, Mulberry Coffee House had between 15 and 20 employees, he said.

"We've basically been able to survive on about 10 per cent of our business and keep five people employed, and just as we're coming out of it we're probably going to get shut down because of this," Mindorff said. 

"We're not even going to get the 10 per cent that we have. This is just, at the very least, insensitive [and] at the very worst, incompetent."

According to Mindorff, the city should do like small businesses and rethink their plans.

"Maybe like small businesses they could pivot and say, 'Wow, you know, this COVID thing means we should relook our plans. We can't kill these small businesses just as they're trying to survive,'" Mindorff said.

"Like, we've been pivoting every month and changing and now it's taken them a year to get their plans together and like, 'We can't change now, this has taken a long time to get this plan together.' 

"Well everything has changed for everybody. The city has the resources to change even if it means wait until after this patio season at least," Mindorff said.

You can't simply postpone a $6 million neighbourhood rehabilitation.- Coun. Jason Farr

But downtown councillor Jason Farr said there were three letters sent to notify people about the planned construction work.

"I can confirm that Mulberry Coffee House didn't just hear about this from the city. It's not the way we operate with major construction projects," Farr told CBC Hamilton.

Farr said the project has been six years in the making and a lot of residents have given him his "marching orders to get these streets fixed."

"We're going above $6 million here for this project," Farr said.

The councillor said Mindorff's suggestion that the city postpones the project would not work at this stage.

"You can't simply postpone a $6 million neighbourhood rehabilitation … and it's not a simple task to reschedule based on a brief inconvenience that construction brings," Farr said.

Farr said the city is not asking for Mulberry House Coffee to close its patio.

"He'll probably get a lot of business from our construction workers," Farr said.

"If he doesn't want to have his patio in his usual spot for six to eight weeks, there's lots of room out front when the road is closed. Like everyone else, I'm willing to work with him."