June could have been one of the busiest months for Slainte Irish Pub and Restaurant in Fells Point. With two major international soccer tournaments broadcasting half a dozen games per day, it seemed like a jackpot, said Willy Dely, whose restaurant group owns the bar.
But the fans didn't turn out to the bar as he anticipated. Even with nonstop games from the Copa America Centenario and the European Championship, business was slower than during last year's Women's World Cup.
Dely is just one of the Fells Point business owners who say revenue has dropped up to 90 percent amid what the operations director of Kooper's Restaurant Group called a "really nasty cocktail" of circumstances stifling commerce in the neighborhood. Frustrated by months of construction and road closures, the owners of Fells Point's restaurants, bars and shops are fed up with conditions they say the city is ignoring.
The build-out of the Sagamore Pendry Baltimore hotel at the Recreation Pier paired with gas line replacements along Thames Street has led to street closures and blocked parking spaces. While those roadblocks keep some customers from venturing to the heart of Fells Point, local merchants say the bigger problem is the lack of communication from city officials regarding the projects, parking restrictions, affected areas and timelines.
"I want people to know that the situation is not as nice and beautiful as the pictures the city is trying to promote," Dely said.
Anthony McCarthy, a spokesman for Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake's office, said in an email that the city and Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. have worked to minimize the impact on businesses while the utility work is underway. He said the city examined the timelines to maximize efficiency and has worked to improve communication with the community through Councilman Jim Kraft's office to "ensure people are heard."
"The work being completed will allow for the redevelopment of the formerly vacant Recreation Pier into a vibrant new hotel that we hope will benefit local businesses once it is completed," he wrote. "We are certainly aware of the difficulties expressed by many of our small businesses in that area and have been working to mitigate those challenges."
Kraft did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
BGE began replacing a gas main along Thames Street in April, and the project is expected to be completed in late August, according to BGE spokesman Aaron Koos. Sagamore's hotel is on track to be completed next year.
In the meantime, businesses say they are suffering. Revenue for the Kooper's Restaurant Group's Fells Point bars — Slainte, Kooper's Tavern and Woody's Cantina — was down 10 percent for the first six months of the year, Dely said. Even regular customers have stayed away because they know there's no guarantee of finding nearby parking, Dely said. Sales are better than they were a year ago after the unrest following the death of Freddie Gray, but they are not as high as they should be, he said.
During weekdays, aMuse Toys owner Claudia Towles said her business has been down 60 percent to 90 percent since gas line replacements started.
"Cash flow is tight — I ordered for a busy season, and I'm overstocked," she said. "If I had known that this kind of work was going to be done I would have planned for it; I would have adjusted my buying."
Parking has been restricted during the day along the corridor. Initially no street parking was allowed in the construction zone at any time, but businesses lobbied BGE to open parking in the evenings.
Darin Mislan, general manager for the Admiral's Cup Restaurant & Bar, said his lunch business and happy hour have taken the hardest hit.
"We've had caution tape blocking the entrances," he said. "People are avoiding it like the plague. But that said, our evening and weekend business has been stronger than ever."
Dely said his staff's tip pool is decreasing, and he's having trouble keeping employees because of it. The challenges come as Kooper's Tavern approaches its 20th year in business.
"It's crazy that after 20 years we don't earn enough respect from the city to deal with all those things by ourselves," Dely said. "The amount of business we do benefits them directly with the tax money, and they shoot themselves in the foot by not helping businesses, by showing up and doing unannounced construction."
Fells Point residents and business owners had discussed options to boost visitation, like creating a neighborhood-wide valet zone to alleviate some of the parking problems, but a central location was never found and those talks with city officials fizzled and died.
Tiffany James, a spokeswoman for the Parking Authority of Baltimore City, said her agency went door to door earlier this year with fliers warning local businesses about construction and offering 50 percent discounts for parking reservations made in advance at the Caroline Street Garage through baltimoreparking.com. The discount, good for evenings and weekends, is still available with the promotion code "fellspoint15."
Melissa Krafchik, a parking planner with the parking authority, said the agency installed two "P" signs on Thames Street directing drivers to other parking options, and is brainstorming more ways to help visitors avoid congestion in the area.
Local business owners say they hope the opening of Sagamore's hotel helps restore business to the main street.
Mislan said he thinks the improvements will pay off.
"It's certainly affecting things, but I think it's necessary growing pains," he said. "The return's going to be a lot greater."
But others worry how the city will respond to future problems they encounter, such as traffic created from Harbor Point.
"My question will be like, 'What else?' " Dely said. "This is just the tip of the iceberg."