The Wacker Drive reconstruction project may be a headache for downtown commuters and unsuspecting tourists, but it poses a more serious economic threat to the hotels and restaurants that line the crumbling Chicago thoroughfare.
As the mammoth effort got under way Friday night, some owners and managers already were worried about their establishments surviving the two-year project, which they said is scaring away potential customers because of traffic advisories urging people to avoid the area.
The problem is as plain as the patio in front of Nick & Tony’s Italian Chop House, a popular eatery at 1 E. Wacker Drive. It’s not much use right now, but the outdoor patio seats 220 in the summer months, bringing in $1 million in business.
This summer, patio diners are likely to be turned off by the view of a torn-up street, as well as the noise and mess of construction.
“I’m very concerned. That’s how we make our money and our bonuses,” said Paul Sciamanda, the restaurant’s general manager. “No one disputes how nice it will look when it’s finished, but it’s going to be a rough couple of years.”
A half-block away, at the intersection of State Street and Wacker, transportation and business leaders gathered Friday to discuss last-minute preparations and ask for patience from business owners and commuters.
“Take five minutes, look into your route ahead of time and you’ll probably minimize your disruption,” said Miguel d’Escoto, the city’s new transportation commissioner.
Officials also downplayed the potential revenue loss for affected businesses.
“This plan is not designed to have commerce stop,” said Joseph Balasa, chief operating officer of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. “We do not expect lost business, and if that begins to happen, it’s back to the drawing board.”
In case of foul-ups, the chamber has a hot line for businesses to call.
At 8 p.m. Friday, construction crews set up barricades to close off Wacker for a ceremony staged by the city.
A procession of state and city squad cars with Mars lights flashing followed the “Bluesmobile” along the streets made famous by Jake and Elwood’s high-speed police chases in the 1980 movie “The Blues Brothers.”
“`The Blues Brothers’ and Wacker Drive are great pieces of Chicago’s fabric,” said Thom Johnson, city Department of Transportation assistant director. “We thought it was perfectly fitting that the Bluesmobile take the final ride.”
Looking ahead, it will be anything but business as usual for those with Wacker addresses.
When it comes to being truly on the front lines, it’s the Renaissance Chicago Hotel and Catch Thirty-Five, an upscale seafood restaurant, that will be bearing the brunt of the early work.
So far, at least, both businesses say they are optimistic the disruption will be far less severe than originally advertised.
The 10-year-old Renaissance loses its front entrance where cabs and other cars currently drop off guests, but it has created a temporary dropoff on the State Street side of the building.
“The city has been great helping us make it our own private cul-de-sac,” said Tom Ernsting, the hotel’s director of marketing. “We’ll actually end up with more room using the space on State Street from Lake to Wacker.”
To acquaint cab drivers with the new configuration, the hotel will be holding a cab drivers appreciation day next week, featuring free Krispy Kreme doughnuts.
The hotel initially was concerned that its guests would be driven away by round-the-clock construction and the attendant noise, but the city backed away from those plans because of similar concerns from residents of nearby Marina City. Now, construction will be limited to daytime hours.
“Our guests will actually be getting a better night’s sleep with no traffic,” Ernsting said.
Managers at Catch Thirty-Five also are generally upbeat, but they are worried about a downturn in their lucrative dinner business, which relies heavily on suburbanites who drive downtown for theater performances.
“I’d be crazy to say we weren’t concerned. It’s something we’ve never been through before,” said Ken Karlson, marketing director for Taste America Restaurant Group, which owns Catch Thirty-Five and four other Chicago restaurants.
Catch Thirty-Five plans extra advertising to get the word out that it is still accessible during the summer. By the fall, construction should have moved elsewhere.
“The public’s perception is the thing. We’re heavily marketing the fact that we’re still here and we’ve got plenty of access,” Karlson said. “People shouldn’t be afraid to come down here.”
Two blocks to the east, the Executive Plaza hotel won’t be affected by the first construction phase, but it also is feeling negative effects.
“The message is so pervasive, it’s nearly impossible for us to dilute it,” said Keith Murphy, the hotel’s director of sales and marketing. “Every day we’re getting calls from future guests and people who have booked business here.”
Murphy is doing his best to reassure guests that they still will have access to the front of the hotel. In fact, they will almost have a private street because there will be no through-traffic on Wacker, but cars can still arrive on Wabash Avenue.
But he is worried that many guests will book somewhere else without checking and that other hotels may use the Wacker construction to boost their business at the Executive Plaza’s expense.
“It’s a competitive environment out there,” Murphy said.
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