July 19, 2024 (Cover Photo Credit: City of Pocatello)
Merchants in downtown Pocatello, who say that they are experiencing a dramatic drop-off in business, are imploring Pocatello Mayor Brian Blad to take immediate action to reopen the Center Street Underpass.
Bill Kelvie is the owner of Gate City Coffee & Wine Bistro and Gate City Gift & Gallery, both located on Center Street. “[The closed underpass] is a major problem for businesses in the core downtown area of downtown Pocatello,” he said. “Any assistance we can get to re-open the underpass would be much appreciated.”
Kelvie explained that the weeks-long closing of the underpass, “has created a serious problem for downtown businesses, particularly those in service and retail. Many of the business owners I have spoken to in the last few days are finding themselves in a place reminiscent of the Main Street construction debacle of several years ago.” He continued, “The traditional tourist traffic in Historic Downtown Pocatello has come to a screeching halt. Tourists and locals alike are avoiding coming to the area because of the difficulty in navigating their way here. As the owner of a core business downtown that usually sees 300-400 people per day, we are now seeing a third of that on a good day. While we are very, very grateful for our loyal customer base, we can only imagine what other small businesses in our area have been enduring. Quite frankly, downtown has become a ghost town as of late.”
Gary Maag of Maag Prescription and Medical Supply, also located on Center Street, expressed similar concerns. “The debacle of the Center Street underpass has negatively affected many businesses in Old Town Pocatello. Like many businesses, Maag Prescription and Medical Supply has had a decrease in walk-in traffic since the closing of the underpass. Many of our customers have opted for our free delivery option, instead of dealing with the detours of Old Town Pocatello. I feel bad for all the retail businesses in Old Town and hope the city could find a resolution soon.”
Craig Yadon is the owner of Purpose Tea, a couple of blocks down from Center Street on Main. He said, “Every time the city does a study on economic development, it says that the downtown is the heart of Pocatello. Yet, we never seem to see that translate into the downtown businesses being a priority. Like others, we’ve also seen a significant decrease in business since the closure of the Center Street underpass. It’s been especially bad for us and other downtown merchants as we are in the height of the tourist season, when we typically have our best sales of the year.”
Kelvie has taken to social media to ask for the public’s help. He recently posted, “It has now been a week since the City of Pocatello released a statement that they would re-open the underpass after paving it ‘later this summer.’ Unfortunately, the tourist season will be effectively over by then. We are asking the city to prioritize this matter and open it ASAP. Any pressure that can be put on Mayor Blad’s office to speed up the process would be quite helpful.”
