Gilley's Diner owner says Portsmouth traffic changes for outdoor dining hurt her business

PORTSMOUTH — Business is down at Gilley’s Diner this month because of new city rules limiting traffic on Fleet Street, according to the owner of the 110-year-old eatery loved by late night patrons.

During the city’s outdoor dining season, in effect this month and lasting into November, drivers on Hanover Street cannot turn right onto Fleet Street, where Gilley’s is located. Vehicles are still allowed to come onto Fleet Street from the opposite end of the road, which they enter from Congress Street.

The new one-way traffic pattern on Fleet Street accommodates city-approved outdoor dining enclosures jutting out into the roadway, such as the one at The Franklin. Yet across the road, Gina Kennedy, owner of Gilley’s, said the new traffic flow has slashed patronage at her eatery as vehicle operators who typically drive up to Gilley’s are thrown off by the new configuration.

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“We just have a problem with the fact that it’s advantageous to one person and it has many disadvantages to another,” she said of the new traffic format.

At the edge of Fleet Street on the Hanover Street side, a “Do Not Enter” barrier rests with signs hung above indicating the road has become a one-way street and that turning right is prohibited.

The first week that the temporary traffic pattern took effect, Kennedy reported that food sales decreased by 30%.

“That’s a learning curve, I’m assuming, because people are trying to find a way (onto Fleet Street),” she said.

Kennedy pointed out that the city has since added new blue signage at the junction, which states that businesses and sidewalks remain open and can be accessed by turning onto Fleet Street from Congress Street.

Kennedy posted about the new traffic pattern on the social media pages for Gilley’s, writing that only about 20% of customers come to the eatery on foot.

The city’s outdoor dining guidelines for the 2022 season, now in its third year, requires  restaurants pay fees for the space they’ll be taking up in roadways and with parking spaces.

City parking spaces used by restaurants for outdoor dining cost the business $1,500 each and abutter approval if they intend to go beyond their storefront and into another business’ boundary.

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Restaurant owners who want to have their outdoor dining enclosures in city streets must pay $5 per square foot of dining space while also gaining the same approval from abutters. Businesses utilizing city streets for dining must have an enclosure that pays the city a minimum of $1,000, which is at least 200 square feet worth of outdoor dining space.

Per the city manager's office, outdoor dining permits have been approved for 37 Portsmouth restaurants.

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Kennedy recalled the street’s outdoor dining setup from the first two years of outdoor dining in Portsmouth, saying cars were allowed to drive up to Gilley’s from the Hanover Street side, but that there were barriers just beyond the business to prevent them from going further.

“We’re part of the restaurant community. We don’t have any grievances towards our fellow restaurateurs. But to me, it’s a decision that is hindering,” Kennedy said about the new traffic layout.

City public information officer Stephanie Seacord said the decision to alter the Fleet Street traffic pattern was made in part because Gilley’s complained to the city last year that drivers entering the road from Hanover Street were disrupting their parking lot by using it to turn around. The decision also came in consideration of emergency vehicles that need to use the road.

Seacord acknowledged the new one-way setup on Fleet Street also affects access to the city's High-Hanover parking garage. Drivers are now barred from entering the garage by turning right onto Fleet Street and can only access that entrance after heading downtown along Congress Street and turning onto Fleet Street.

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“We are collecting all comments, good, bad and indifferent, to report back to the City Council at the end of the year,” Seacord said of the outdoor dining season.

Owner of the grilled and fried food establishment since 1997, Kennedy felt it was important to alert her customers to the changes for the six-month outdoor dining period by posting on social media.

Frustrations with the new Fleet Street traffic flow are largely coming from the business’ regulars, Kennedy added.

“We have an older clientele. Coming from Hanover is a straight shot to us, whereas going around the city to Congress (Street), especially now with all the other (outdoor) dining, it’s a little bit hard to get around. That’s what people want to avoid,” she said. “People who don’t want to get into that congestion try to avoid it.”

Portsmouth’s outdoor dining season will conclude on Nov. 27.

Feedback on the city's outdoor dining season can be emailed to hotline@cityofportsmouth.com

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Gilley's owner says Portsmouth traffic flow changes hurt her business