SAN ANTONIO – Four months since construction wrapped up on the St. Mary’s Strip, the trucks and barricades are gone — but so are many customers.
“Everybody I talk to they just go, ‘Oh, the construction is done on North St. Mary’s?’ Why would they want to come down here and mess with those detours again,” said Malcolm Hartman, co-owner of Tycoon Flats
The St. Mary’s Strip has a newly paved street, wider sidewalks, bike lanes and new lighting. But Hartman said the days of delays, roadblocks, and headaches are cemented in customers’ minds.
“There is so much to offer here. There’s so much talent. There’s so much beauty on North St. Mary’s, and it’s sad because it’s quiet,” said Tammy Russell, owner of Candlelight Pourhouse.
The drive on the Strip today is smooth, but businesses still need help to get people walking through their doors.
“Our foot traffic is down probably 50%,” said Hartman.
When construction work started on the Strip in March 2021, the original completion date was October 2022. But, according to the City of San Antonio, mistakes by contractors, unforeseen circumstances, and the weather pushed the end date to September 2023.
The prolonged project did come with casualties of construction woes.
“We saw the light at the end of the tunnel, but for us at that point, we were $400,000 in the hole from just three years of prolonged construction,” said Aaron Pena, owner of the Squeezebox bar.
Pena said he was forced to close the Squeezebox in July 2023. He still has businesses in Southtown at Amor Enterno and Gimme Gimme, but he fears for his peers on the Strip.
“I might have been the first domino to fall, but now we see El Ojo, which is closing in a few short weeks,” said Pena.
With how business is going, Russell worries her business could be next.
“If it does not get busy, we’re probably looking at six months to a year,” said Russell.
The business owners KSAT spoke with want to drive one point home — the St. Mary’s Strip is open.
“We have a beautiful outcome of it, but we don’t have the people anymore,” said Russell.
Hartman added, “Don’t forget about us. Come down here and check it out.”