Desperate times call for desperate measures. For Tyson Reiser, owner of Caf� Pyrus in downtown Kitchener, those measures came in a bright pink package.

Reiser saw sales fall from $2,000 a day to $1,200 when construction for light rail transit tore up Charles Street this year. His distinctive vegetarian caf� disappeared in a cloud of dust, hidden by construction vehicles. Whether you walked, cycled or drove to Caf� Pyrus, it was hard to find.

Putting up his own signs to show potential customers the way, as owner Mike Williamson of Central Fresh Market did, is often futile. Those signs are sometimes placed illegally and get taken down. But Central Fresh puts new ones up, and rearranges them daily to coincide with street openings and closings. "It's pretty much a full-time job just monitoring it all," he said.

Reiser didn't want to put up signs that would just get taken down. But, he added: "They didn't say we couldn't have flamingoes."

So, if you want to find Caf� Pyrus, just follow the trail of bright pink plastic flamingoes that are tied to lampposts and construction fences downtown.

The flamingoes have been up for two weeks. They were mostly left intact until they were all stolen last weekend. Since then, the wacky birds have been replaced. And they helped created a buzz on social media that has brought customers in.

In Waterloo's core, two other businesses worried about construction impact next year are trying a different strategy. They hope to train customers to find them now, so they will be ready when the backhoes and jackhammers come.

Until Aug. 8, Words Worth Books and the Honey Bake Shop next door, two businesses that front onto King Street South, are inviting customers to use the back lane behind the stores.

The two stores have set up an enticing outdoor patio there, with a lending library, tables of books on sale, coffee, soft drinks and baked goods. Musicians will stop by, and there will be a "knit-in" on Aug 2. The city helped out by filling in potholes in the laneway.

The project, entitled "Summer in our Backyard," is "just a way to promote Hughes Lane as a pedestrian-friendly way to access our businesses," said Mandy Brouse, co-owner of Words Worth Books.

She said both the shops have time on their side, and want to take advantage of it.

The light rail transit project is supported by most independent business owners in Kitchener and Waterloo's core areas. But the construction that must precede it is a formidable challenge.

"There's a lot of fear of the unknown, there's a lot of fear of what we've already seen" in areas where streets are being dug up, Brouse said.

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The pink flamingoes of Pyrus Caf� are a clever answer to a tough marketing problem. The daily monitoring and replacement of directional signs by Central Fresh Market shows a willingness to fight hard for a long-standing local business. The Waterloo back-lane patio is a creative example of thinking ahead.

These are the kinds of ideas, and the kinds of business owners, we want in our community. Take time to support them, even if it means driving around the block one more time to find them.