Business owner’s woes increase from road project

Gasoline convenience store operator Barnabas Yeo was in trouble even before Spokane Valley began a construction project Monday that obstructed his driveways at the corner of Broadway Avenue and Fancher Road.

“Now they put me out of my misery,” Yeo said. “I don’t think I can survive this.”

Yeo contacted news organizations Monday and, by Tuesday morning, city officials were working with Yeo to place Chevron-logo signs to make it clear his business was open.

“He was going to try to find some and, if he can’t, we’ll have some made,” Public Works Director Neil Kersten said.

“I know it’s hard on businesses sometimes, but our staff tries really hard to work with businesses,” said City Councilwoman Diana Wilhite, herself a small-business owner.

Officials say there was access to the store Monday, but that wasn’t apparent from the intersection.

From Fancher Road, the only way in was by snaking through the next-door parking lot of the Six Robblees’ Inc. truck and trailer parts store. The path from Broadway Avenue resembled an obstacle course.

Kersten said conditions should improve for Yeo about halfway through the five-week project when the partial closure shifts from the northwest corner of the intersection, where Broadway Station is located, to the southeast corner, where the Thai Bar and Grill is located.

The $562,000 project will rebuild the intersection and pave it with concrete. Heavy truck traffic in the industrial area has mashed big ruts into the current asphalt pavement.

“It’s a pretty fast track for a project like this,” said project inspector Carey Hagen, of Taylor Engineering. “The idea is to get in and get out of here as quickly as possible.”

Even with one-lane access, Yeo expects his business to suffer.

“People will avoid this place,” he said. “They’re not going to go to a convenience store if it’s not convenient anymore.”

In five years as owner of the Broadway Station, Yeo has gotten to know many of his customers on a first-name basis. When the economy turned sour and some of them were laid off, he promised them a free lunch from his delicatessen.

Now he doubts he’ll be able to deliver.

He said the deli is his “bread and butter,” but only one customer came in the first hour Monday.

“No sandwiches, no nothing,” employee Greg Managhan said. “This place is normally packed.”

Yeo said he had to throw out the breakfast food and close the deli because health rules require prepared food to be sold within 30 minutes.

“I’ve had probably 10 customers all day long – 10 customers who can walk,” Yeo said at midday.

Yeo said he was “just getting by without making any money on gas” when the economy was good, which he blamed on an ongoing dispute with his gasoline supplier. Then the recession cut his income in half, he said.

Income may be down, but his bills aren’t, Yeo said. “Every month, the same amount has to go out.”

He said he has just taken delivery of a $15,000 load of gasoline that he’ll have to pay for even if he can’t sell it.

“That’s just one thing,” he said, citing his mortgage, monthly taxes, employees’ wages, and utility bills that run $1,500 to $2,000 a month.

“It’s a desperate situation,” Yeo said.