The Station Street road closures have been an inconvenience for many, but for one business, it has been "frustrating".
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Tucked away on Bong Bong Street, Early Bird has experienced a sudden drop in patrons due to the ongoing roadworks.
Owner Matt Hili said the coffee takeaway shop received more than 100 orders via text message on the day road construction started, however, a quarter of the coffee orders weren't picked up.
"They couldn't get to us," he said.
"Or the traffic delays were too long and would cancel orders, and people not showing.
"It was instant, we were down 20 to 30 per cent. It was like that during the entire closure."
Matt said the closures made it hard for customers to reach them.
"I sympathise with the customers because I live in Mittagong," he said.
"There were days when I didn't have time to sit in the traffic queue for half an hour to get back to my shop.
"It was just chaos for us."
During the Christmas period, Station Street roadworks were temporarily put on hold.
However, the roadworks recommenced as of Monday, January 9, 2023.
With January deemed the "quietest month", Matt said the further road closures would be "frustrating".
"I know what's going to happen. It's always a quiet month while everybody else is still off, so it's not a great opportunity for us to catch up on trade," he said.
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"People don't have time to make a 40-minute detour to get a coffee.
"The reality for us is, when the roadworks start again, we'll need to reduce hours.
"There have been some days where we sell two coffees in five hours after 9 am.
"You're just burning through money. It's daunting.
"It makes it difficult to plan for staff, suppliers, budgets and how we're going to do over the coming months."
The last few years have been hard on the hospitality industry. However, Early Bird was able to keep trading throughout the COVID period.
"Our business model allowed us to keep trading almost unaffected," he said.
"We wore masks, increased extra hygiene measures and discouraged cash payments to reduce any risk of transmissions, but we were able to stay open.
"We actually experienced a slight increase in saw some new faces.
"It's hard to complain, we've been lucky. I've been there for nearly nine and a half years, and we've had a reasonably successful consistent business.
"Hopefully, the Station Street construction doesn't drag on for too long and doesn't put a dent in us too much."
Early Bird is open seven days a week, from 5 am to 2 pm Monday to Friday, from 5 am to 12 pm on Saturday and from 7 am to 12 pm on Sunday.
Coffee orders can be sent via text at 0498992513.
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Vera Demertzis
Journalist at the Southern Highland News covering council yarns and community news. Got a tip or a story to tell? Email vera.demertzis@southernhighlandnews.com.au or call on 0427 250 908.
Journalist at the Southern Highland News covering council yarns and community news. Got a tip or a story to tell? Email vera.demertzis@southernhighlandnews.com.au or call on 0427 250 908.
