JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Some businesses in the Deerwood area said they’re facing a significant drop in foot traffic due to the reconstruction of a Publix in front of their buildings.
“I’m doing everything I can to keep the guests who were walking in our doors last month coming through them,” said Scramblers owner Shawn McCurdy.
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McCurdy said his business has experienced a loss in profits and foot traffic ever since construction of the Publix began.
McCurdy’s business, along with several others on Baymeadows and Southside Boulevard in Deerwood Village, lost all their parking spaces when a green fence went up last week.
But McCurdy said this wasn’t supposed to happen.
“Publix told us there would be some parking issues, and they did shut down part of the parking lot, which we could manage. We had about 50 parking spaces to work with, and business was okay, though we struggled a bit. A week ago, to my surprise, they put up the fence and blocked off every single one of our spots. Now, there’s zero parking, and it’s been a real struggle,” said McCurdy.
McCurdy explained that they previously served more than 50 customers a day before construction began. Now, he says, only a handful of customers come through daily, and most tables remain empty.
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“My staff knows we have people ready to be taken care of, but with fewer people walking in the front door, it’s obviously affecting them directly as well,” he said.
So much so that he had to cut down on staff.
He added that they’ve received no response from Publix, and their losses are growing each day.
“Just tell us. Let us know what’s going on and give us a timeline,” McCurdy said.
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McCurdy’s customers now have to park behind the building, along with the other businesses. He says customers are finding it difficult to locate parking spaces.
“I really hope something happens with the parking lot—whether it’s expedited or paved sooner, just some alternate way to allow our guests to come in the front door,” McCurty explained.
Action News Jax reached out to Publix for a comment but did not hear back before the story aired. We also contacted District 11 City Council Member Raul Arias to see if he could provide any insight into the situation in his district, but we haven’t received a response at this time.
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