Dublin road closures and EU presidency impact on local businesses, Digi Mart USA News (Dublin, Ireland): Road closures in Dublin begin this morning, with disruption set to worsen as the week goes on, to facilitate high-level meetings as part of the State’s Council of the European Union presidency.
Business owners expect the traffic and security measures to have a huge impact on trade in affected areas, with some choosing to close for part of the week as a result.
Gavan Walsh, owner of Boca Cafe at Spencer Dock, said it was “great” for the Republic to hold the EU presidency, but the business would not be opening on Thursday and Friday, when the disruption is to peak as dozens of European leaders gather nearby at Convention Centre Dublin. With many people working in the area being advised to stay at home, Walsh said he saw “zero point in us opening for those days.”
“It’s a shame something that should be positive for Ireland has a negative impact on the local businesses,” he said. He said closing the cafe, which opens from Monday to Friday, for two days would “wipe out maybe about six weeks of any profit” as he will have to pay wages to eight staff, rent and rates regardless.
Adam Maciel, general manager of the Nutbutter at Grand Canal Dock, said trade at the restaurant on Monday had already been affected and he expected the trend to continue. “Lunch is very much affected,” he said, adding that this was a shame given the business had seen a 10 per cent year-on-year growth over the previous month.
He said that with the road closures and related disruption, they were “expecting 6 per cent less in sales.” Maciel was hopeful that the restaurant’s location near the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, where shows are continuing to run this week, might provide a boost later in the day. Nutbutter usually runs with four staff members, but they intended to reduce the numbers to three for the week.
David Lombard, manager of Kennedy’s on Westland Row, said he was unsure how the pub and restaurant might be affected but was feeling “a little bit apprehensive.” A security cordon will be established around the National Gallery of Ireland from 7am on Wednesday, including barriers and parking restrictions, ahead of a dinner at the gallery on Thursday evening after the European Political Community meeting.
“We’re not 100 per cent certain on how it’ll affect our deliveries, how it’ll affect customers coming into the city, staff coming into the city,” Lombard said. “Running a business is all about knowing two steps ahead what’s happening, so when you don’t really know what it’ll be like, it just makes it trickier.” He said he does not think the business will hit its usual financial targets this week and has advised staff against driving into work.
“I say it’ll be very quiet. We rely a lot on Government staff, office staff for lunch trade and as I say, a lot of them won’t be there,” he said.
“[There’s] an after-work crowd as well; I don’t think it’ll be around. I could be completely wrong, you know, but…
I think we’d be quiet.”
Maria Browne, who works in marketing for the Harbourmaster bar and restaurant on Custom House Dock, a short distance from the convention centre, said it would be “business as usual here” even if the restrictions are “absolutely going to be a pain for us.” “We have taken a few cancellations already, so we will, obviously, take a hit.”
The business has been planning ahead, with “a massive big order” that would usually have been staggered throughout the week arriving on Monday. The Harbourmaster will operate with a shortened menu from Wednesday to Friday.
Dustin Khan, sales and marketing director at Cloud Picker Coffee, which has a shop on Pearse Street, said he was expecting numbers “to be significantly down on Wednesday and Thursday.” The shop plans to operate its usual opening hours but may close early due to “inactivity,” which would affect staff earnings. He expected customer numbers could be less than half of usual.
Epic, the Irish emigration museum at Custom House Quay, said it will remain open as usual while the road closures are in place. The museum sits outside the red zone, a spokeswoman said, and access will be “relatively easy for visitors as Connolly Station, two minutes from the museum, is open.” Visitors are advised to have pre-booked tickets and a digital copy of ID and not to bring luggage to the area.
