Restaurants & Road Construction

Major closures stifle business during the high season

By Ross Boissoneau | July 18, 2026

It’s been said that Michigan has two seasons: winter and road construction. For restaurants that already face challenges of surviving the former, adding the negative impact of the latter can be devastating. Losing business during the time of year they count on for the bottom line can make or break a restaurant.

“I’m grateful MDOT is fixing the roads, but when I look at Interlochen, it’s a two-year process,” says Todd Bruce. Bruce is founder and co-owner of A Papano’s Pizza, which has locations in Beulah, Frankfort, Thompsonville, Kingsley, and right on the stretch of US-31 being rebuilt in Interlochen. The intersection at J. Maddy Parkway is also being reconstructed into a roundabout.

“Summer is when we make our money, and it’s when road construction happens. The second year is devastating—a 40 percent drop in volume. Our business is on the highway … because that’s where it’s busy,” Bruce says.

Ups and Downs in Interlochen

Interlochen has been busy this summer, but not with the kind of traffic likely to stop in for lunch or dinner. Instead it’s been highway workers and trucks roaring by as they rebuild the road from the ground up.

Randy Wright, who owns and operates the Interlochen Papano’s with Alex Moreno, says the first couple months were especially tough. That’s when South Long Lake Road, another access point, was closed.

“People didn’t know how to navigate,” he says, not just for Papano’s but also the nearby Dollar General and Subway. “Business dropped 40 percent. South Long Lake opened, but it’s still down 20 percent.”

John Ockert knows exactly how they feel. While Papano’s is located just west of the intersection of US-31 and J. Maddy Parkway, Ockert’s Oaky’s Tavern is located east of the intersection.

He’s a bit more forgiving than Bruce and Wright. “We knew the road needed to be closed. When we bought the business we knew it was coming through,” Ockert says. He and his wife Melissa purchased the tavern six years ago.

Even with going through road construction two years in a row, Ockert says business has been good. “Every year business has grown. We have six years to compare,” he says. “We ran a report from January 1 to April 15, when it [construction] started. We were up. Then June to June, we were down about $180,000 in sales, all from April 15.

“I know we will bounce back,” Ockert adds.

Bruce isn’t so sure. “It gives the competition a leg up. People get used to a habit, then [with the road construction] develop new habits,” he says. He anticipates making what he calls a massive investment to get customers back when the road is finished.

Till then, Papano’s and Oaky’s are among those trying to get by. “The shutdown of South Long Lake Road and the Parkway was tough. Campers from the campground [Interlochen State Campground] will dodge it,” Ockert says.

Traverse City’s US-31

Like Ockert, Dan Summers at Francisco’s Bayside Market at 1532 US-31 North believes the end of construction (for him, the Traverse City State Park) will be a boon. But getting there has been tough.

While he declined to put a number on the construction-related downturn, he said it’s been significant. “Even if it’s five percent, it’s bad,” Summer says. “It’s not been as bad as people would think, but if the perception is it’s bad,” then people will avoid it, he says.

Summers, who serves as the general manager for the deli and eatery, agrees that the newly refurbished road will make things easier. “A new left turn lane will be helpful,” he says. Work continues at the State Park just down the road, so he’s not completely out of the woods yet.

It’s not just customers who have to deal with the roadwork challenge. Employees at places like Oaky’s, Papano’s and the like also have to find their way to and from work. And when Summers signed his son up for Little League, he made the mistake of signing up for a league on the west side of Traverse City. “It’s at Interlochen, Grawn, Elmwood, so we’ve got to navigate multiple layers [of construction].”

Petoskey’s Howard/Mitchell Intersection

Victoria Conklin, who with her husband Chad owns and operates Sam’s Graces in Petoskey, says she is glad to see the construction there done. But it could have been worse. “It wasn’t terrible,” she says.

The couple opened the breakfast and lunch spot in Harbor Springs in 2014, moving to Petoskey in 2020. They managed to survive the move, the pandemic, and road construction, though it hasn’t been easy. “One block up it was inaccessible. A sign at the end said all businesses were open, but people thought our street was closed as well.”

The result was a dropoff in business. “Our numbers weren’t as good,” she says. The downturn was even reflected in the demeanor of many of those who did come in. “People as a whole are just really mad,” she says.

The construction there ended a few weeks ago, and Conklin is optimistic both business and attitudes will improve as a result.

How Long Before Things Turn Around?

Last year, Bray and Brittney McCabe had a front row seat to the action on M-22 west of Tom’s Market. The owners of Glendale Burger Shop saw their business drop due to the construction as the road was rebuilt and the intersection of M-22 and M-72 was remade into a roundabout.

“Most of the July traffic [to the restaurant] was quiet. It was hard to get to us on your lunch hour and make it back to work,” Bray says.

As traffic started moving again, so did business. “The shift in September was night and day different.”

The McCabes aren’t sure what a summer without road construction will be like at Glendale Burger Shop. “We’ve always been in a construction zone,” Bray says, noting that July 4 marked the beginning of their third year in business. “We don’t have a pre-construction baseline. We were up 20 percent in May. That’s a sizable amount for our business.”

Fortunately, once the construction is over, things can return to normal. But Papano’s Bruce warns that the new normal may not look like the old one. He says MDOT’s focus on traffic flow and safety is important, but that doesn’t mean the finished product will bolster his business.

“It may make it more difficult to make a left turn into businesses,” he warns.

Ockert is also optimistic about the end of road construction potentially heralding a growth in the local economy overall. “The new road will invite new business,” he says, looking long term. “It’s huge for business growth. I’m excited.”

While some like Bruce may invest in marketing dollars, others are introducing new products or menu items, though not necessarily just as a response to road construction.

“We’re doing breakfast. That’s a new thing,” says Summer at Francisco’s Bayside Market. “We have more sandwiches, burgers, pizza. Our grab-and-go lunch has expanded.” Otherwise, he’s depending on the market’s reputation and the upswing in summer traffic to help business rebound.