Winnipeg bakery upset over construction work outside front door

A West End bakery says construction is causing a blow to its bottom line.

The sidewalk in front of Eadha Bakery Worker Co-op on Ellice Avenue has been ripped up as part of the work the city is doing to repair the alley between Sherbrook and Furby Streets.

The work started in July and moved to the bakery's back lane in the past few weeks, limiting access to their storage room. Now, the work has moved directly in front of the bakery.

"On Wednesday, they dug into the front and this corner here, that is our front step," said Tamika Krush, the owner of the bakery.

She said the work in the back lane led to some operations changes and then when the work at the front started, she felt it wasn't safe for customers.

"It's our only entrance. It's also a bit scary as staff try to load and unload through this way."

Krush said they made the decision to close the door to customers while the work is happening so close to their front door.

"We have attempted to continue the work needed to at least provide to our wholesalers, but even that is proving difficult. Unfortunately, we won't be able to provide to any of our street traffic or any of our foot traffic."

She said the construction is also impacting their bottom line – last month there was around 250 people making purchases during the same week, whereas, this week there has only been eight customers.

The bakery was given notice back in June about the construction Krush said and she noted she reached out to the contractor immediately because she knew it was going to affect the store.

A spokesperson for the city said consultants have been in contact with the bakery and confirmed notice was given to the business prior to the start of construction, noting it is a standard step in the construction process.

"We've confirmed that, despite the contractor maintaining access according to technical requirements, the business chose to close its doors proactively as it felt the excavation area was too close for their and their customers' comfort," the spokesperson said.

"We made improvements to their entrance area earlier today and expect the excavation area to be shored up to a greater degree, with ramping reinstalled, by morning."

In the future, Krush would like better communication with the city and contractors, as she said it took about a month before she heard back.

"I understand construction needs to be done. So if we're able to be in constant communication with workers so that we can figure out what time, what pockets and windows we have to load and unload, if we were given a walkway, maybe even for customers to access the front," said Krush.