If you’ve driven through East State Village lately, you know it’s a mess. It’s difficult to navigate the maze of orange barrels, barricades, one-way streets, and other streets that seemingly close as soon as you turn onto them. (I’m kidding about the pop-up closures, but only slightly.)
The past couple months, give or take, the area around East State Boulevard and Crescent Avenue has been in upheaval as work continues on streets, sewers, and other infrastructure. If you want to visit restaurants and stores there, you might be confused by how to gain access through the surrounding streets and alleys. Acme by Full Circle, Clem’s Candlelight Cafe, The Village Tap, a’Roma Pizza, State Bar, and Pio Market are trying their best with the reduced traffic.
Pio Market, the venerable meat market and mom-and-pop-style grocery store, is experiencing a noticeable reduction in business.
Neal Butler has owned the market since 1982 and has experienced the highs and lows that come with any business. He knows headaches from construction have scared many away. Even so, he has a loyal base that remains steady.
“People are avoiding the area,” Butler said. “It’s slow, but it’s not horrible. People are avoiding the area. Our regulars are still making it in.”
Next door, Chris Hoeppner at Clem’s Candlelight said business is down nearly 50 percent.
“There’s no one walking up and down the street,” he said. “There are holes everywhere. People just don’t want to be around here.”
At a’Roma, Shaun Beiswanger says the project has people adjusting their habits. Before construction, their steady stream of customers would pick up a sausage roll, pizza, or pasta on the way home. With labyrinth-like access, they are either going somewhere else or using a delivery service.
While that seems like a good thing, Beiswanger said using one of the popular nationally known online food ordering and delivery services means he’s paying extra fees to break even. By design, the pizza shop is built on carry out and store-originated deliveries.
Last week, to combat slow days, a’Roma began offering an “orange barrel carry-out special,” a one-topping large for $10 and a two-topping for $12. Immediately, the store was swamped. He says a simple Facebook post was shared several hundred times that day alone.
Beiswanger noted it’s important for his steady customers and those who frequent businesses in the neighborhood to stick with them and battle through the annoyances. He encourages customers to use the conventional store-based delivery service or carry out.
Hoeppner has endured weeks of issues. He’s documented trucks and equipment in his parking lot and jackhammers rattling the foundation of the eatery during peak hours.
He says there has not been much communication, and he’s wondering when it all ends. This was after a water main caused damage to the basement and forced the joint to close on a busy Friday. Crews did work to provide a temporary fix, and he was open for the weekend.
Good news could be on its way, as the city’s construction schedule shows work is scheduled to be completed on East State and Crescent by Oct. 13.
There’s a general theme: A plea from businesses in that stretch, asking customers to give them a chance and suffer through the discomfort.
Show your appreciation for these businesses. Give them a shot again. Things will return to normal soon.
Corned beef fundraiser returns Oct. 19
It’s a Fort Wayne tradition: Congregation Achduth Vesholom’s Corned Beef on Rye fundraiser is Thursday, Oct. 19, 5200 Old Mill Road.
The fundraiser is in its 21st year and features a deli-style boxed lunch consisting of a third-pound sandwich, cole slaw, a dill pickle, a fudge brownie, and drink.
It is simple: just drive through, make your order, and drive away. Pre-orders are accepted at templecav.org/corned-beef-sale/. Meals are $18 when ordered by Friday, Oct. 6, and $21 after and the day of.
Proceeds help support ritual, cultural, educational, social action, and social programs at the temple.
Union Street Market finds two new vendors
Union Street Market’s East Hall will have two more merchants as The Kitchen & Co. Wine Bar and Pasta di Guy will soon open at Electric Works.
The Kitchen & Co. Wine Bar focuses on locally produced wines and affordable options. It should open before winter.
Co-owners Jennifer Krider and Kaitlyn Morgan have operated a location in Columbia City since 2019. They are billed as a mother-daughter team that offers charcuterie, grazing boxes, wraps, salads, and housemade dips and spreads in addition to wine.
Tampa-based Pasta di Guy gives the Summit City scratch-made pasta, sauces, and dressings, according to a Union Street Market press release.
Owner Guy Carmeli has a family connection to Fort Wayne and loves the community and the vision for the market space.
Keep watching for more information on when both will open.
Off the Eaten Path is the Whatzup weekly column that covers Northeast Indiana’s restaurant and food news. Send your news items to info@whatzup.com.
