I-435, Midland Drive construction has major impact on local businesses
SHAWNEE, Kan. — While the Kansas Department of Transportation conducts a long-term project at I-435 & Midland Dr. in Shawnee, access to Midland will be reduced. Midland Dr. is now closed under I-435, causing challenges for businesses to the east and west of I-435.
“I’m down 35%, but other business owners are down 50% and 55%,” said Matt McQueeny, Co-Owner of Rize N Shine.
“So it’s impacted this corridor very, very harshly.”
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In early June, Matt McQueeny and his wife bought the space where eggct. used to be, and rebranded the restaurant as Rize N Shine. He says business was great until construction started at I-435 and Midland Drive just a few weeks later.
“It was fantastic. We actually were above the eggtc. numbers for the first two weeks, and then almost immediately when the bridge and Midland closed, we saw just a significant drop,” McQueeny said.
“When we took over this business, we kept basically the same menu, the entire staff, everybody’s still the same. So there wasn’t any change. What we heard from our customers was just that it’s harder to get here. I mean, that’s the bottom line.”
McQueeny said the lack of communication about the project has been the most frustrating.
“If I would have known that this was happening, I don’t know if I would’ve bought the business. I literally took possession on June 3rd, and this happened. The newsletter came out on June 14th, and then the shutdown was June 24th,” McQueeny said.
”I don’t know if we would have bought the business. We probably would’ve waited to see the impact before buying the business.”
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Other businesses in the area, like Bar West, face the same challenges.
“Business has been significantly affected,” said Laura Robinson, an employee at Bar West.
“Customers, I would say, were down at least 40% from normal, and I think the most frustrating part of it was that we didn’t know that this was happening.”
Staffers with the Shawnee Chamber of Commerce are working with affected store owners.
“We’re meeting with them again on Friday, and we’ve been in constant communication with them to brainstorm ways to bring awareness to this area and make sure that customers know the easiest path to get to their business and that they are open and operating,” Smith-Tate explained.
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“These businesses have supported us and the Shawnee community for so many years. We are making our citizens aware that they need to come out and support these businesses,” Smith-Tate said.
“We want to make sure that when the construction is done, and everything’s back to normal, these businesses are here to serve our citizens.”
A list of Midland Dr. detours can be found here.
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