Locke Street , where business owners have endured months of road reconstruction and closures, is slated to fully reopen next week.

But it is too late for Mario Spina, owner of NaRoma Pizza Bar — on Locke since 2011.

Spina said the restaurant closed Friday when his landlord locked its doors. He'd fallen two-and-a-half months behind in rent and had suffered heavy financial losses from the construction that began last April.

Spina blames the seven month construction project "100 per cent" for his restaurant's closure.

Mario Spina, owner of NaRoma Pizza Bar. | John Rennison/The Hamilton Spectator

"I was down 55 per cent in business ... and down over $300,000 in sales," he said.

"Normally, I employed 22 people for the summer months, many of them university students, because we have a patio and were busy ... I went from over 20 employees to three of us."

It was impossible to stay afloat, he said, adding "you could not drive there." He asked the city for compensation, but was told it is never done for such projects — an answer that irritates him.

"Just because they don't do it now, it doesn't mean they can't start," he said. "A lot of cities do compensate."

Heather Coward, owner of LuLu & Lavigne Home Studio on Locke, said Oakville has a similar road project, but is compensating affected businesses there.

"I can't tell you the number of customers" who believed the city was compensating her, but were "taken aback" when they found out that wasn't the case, she said.

The city is reconstructing the road and sidewalks, and replacing old water mains, as part of the $5.4-million project.

Spina wants to return to Locke Street someday, but "that's going to take a serious amount of time."

"I loved Locke Street and the Kirkendall community," he added.

He opened a pop-up shop — as did several other businesses — a few months ago to carry him through. "The money I made here went to Locke, but the wounds were too deep," however.

Now, he continues to work at his pop-up inside Scoly's Hometown Market on Nebo Road. And a woman he doesn't know and her Kirkendall neighbours started a GoFundMe page to raise $15,000 and get him back on his feet.

NaRoma Pizza Bar was forced to close its doors on Friday. | John Rennison/The Hamilton Spectator

Rebecca Bamford, owner of the toy store Citizen Kid, said the long construction project made it extremely challenging to plan for the coming Christmas season, which accounts for roughly 60 per cent of her retail sales.

"It's hard to make financial decisions when the road is closed and will affect your seasonal sales," she said.

Bamford was initially pleased with the project, but became increasingly frustrated at what she said was its slow progression.

Coun. Maureen Wilson, who represents the area, said the Nov. 7 completion date is still ahead of schedule. The project was projected to wrap up Nov. 30.

She said city staff and construction crews have been working hard throughout although there were some unexpected delays — like when "some water mains installed over 100 years ago disintegrated when the crews touched them," she said. "To me, that indicated the vulnerability of the (infrastructure) system and the fact this work was necessary.

"I absolutely understand there was an impact on businesses," she added. "How could there not be?"

She also said city staff responded immediately to questions or problems and she put videos on her website and social media every two weeks to update everyone on the project's progression.

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About NaRoma, she said, "I'm very sorry that decision had to be made. I know the hospitality and retail businesses are uber competitive." She also noted NaRoma closed its Burlington location recently as well.

Heidi Vanderkwaak, chair of the Locke Street BIA, and owner of Donut Monster, said she is aware of only two businesses closing, reportedly because of the construction, including NaRoma. Others, she said, closed temporarily and opened pop-up sites elsewhere. Others still, took the opportunity to retire.

Construction on Locke Street is on track to finish by Nov. 7.| Cathie Coward/The Hamilton Spectator

Wilson said the reconstructed street is more hospitable for pedestrians, has urban braille, and will soon have trees and benches added to the landscape. "Eventually over time, the properties and residents are going to benefit from increased assessment."

Vanderkwaak, speaking as Donut Monster owner, said anecdotally that many businesses lost 30 to 40 per cent of their revenue in the summer. She and others are frustrated and tired of the whole mess.

"We're now feeling general fatigue about the construction. Let's get things open and accessible."

She opened a temporary pop-up location at Cannon and James streets that is closing on Halloween to get her through the construction. She also has a temporary Toronto location.

"We expected a 15 to 20 per cent loss in business. When it got to 30 per cent, we had to make other decisions."

While there are regular business turnovers on Locke, "business, in general, will say it has been a very tough year."

Jamie Reid, owner of Picks and Sticks Music, said his expectation of a 20 to 25 per cent drop in sales came to fruition, "so that's not good for business."

"However, the street looks good ... it looks beautiful."

cfragomeni@thespec.com

905-526-3392 | @CarmatTheSpec