A London dining icon is facing a tough time.

Construction on the former Kingsmill’s building, which will become part of Fanshawe College’s downtown campus, has slashed patio business at the Marienbad restaurant on Carling Street by more than 70 per cent, said owner ­Jerry Pribil, noting he may be forced to shut down for the month of ­August.

“Potentially, we could be forced to close it temporarily. I don’t want to do that,” said Pribil.

“We are the bread and butter for 22 families, we provide them with food on the table. I hope we are not forced to do that.”

He has already slashed work hours from 40 a week to between 20 and 30, to keep his doors open.

If he does close, it will likely happen at the end of July for about one month, he said.

“That is a worse-case scenario. I don’t want to close, I don’t want to do that to my staff, I don’t know how they would cope. It would be very rough.”

Pribil called on the city and Downtown London, the business group, to help with marketing initiatives to help draw customers in.

“They could do features, ads — get the word out on social media,” he said.

“The downtown business association has a mass following and it would cost them nothing to promote us.”

His plea was heard by Coun. Tanya Park, who represents the core.

“Downtown London can certainly assist with ensuring everyone knows that despite construction, downtown is, indeed, open for business,” said Park.

“Ensuring that businesses within the (downtown) boundary are supported is a key part of the organization’s business.”

The restaurant relies on lunch patio business to carry it through the summer months when most diners prefer their home patio.

One week, construction workers weren’t on the job on a Thursday and Friday and the patio was full, said Pribil.

“There are not a lot of people down here, there is no traffic,” he said.

At the nearby retail store, Uber Cool Stuff, foot traffic is also down although sales haven’t been hurt by the construction, said owner Kayla Gibbens.

“Our traffic has gone down, it’s hurt us a bit but it is great to see” the work being done, she said.

She praised Downtown London for holding nearby street festivals and music events.

“Downtown London has been very supportive,” she said.

At Milo’s Craft Beer Emporium, they haven’t seen a decline in business, but they’re not directly across from the construction, as the Marienbad — the back end of the Kingsmill’s building faces ­Carling — is.

“We have heard there has been dust and noise, but we are far enough away it does not hurt us,” said Nick Farmer, bar manager at Milo’s.

At the Marienbad, the noise from the massive conversion of the former department store building into part of Fanshawe’s downtown campus makes patio chat impossible.

“It is the noise — we try to keep it as clean as possible, (but) you cannot talk when you have all the trucks going by,” said Pribil.

The Kingsmill’s work will last two years, so Pribil fears he may be facing the fallout next summer too.

Downtown London officials could not be reached for comment.