Submitted by Sam Ahn.
Hi I’m Sam. I’m the son of the owner of the Lucky Food Store on Hipkins Rd (right next to the Jack in the Box).
After everything the business endured with the Hipkins Road construction, I never imagined we’d be facing the same nightmare again so soon. But here we are—another road project, another year (or more) of uncertainty, and yet another devastating blow to our business.
This time, it’s Steilacoom Boulevard. Construction has begun, and once again, access to our store is severely restricted. Roadblocks, detours, and endless construction make it difficult for customers to reach us, and business is already suffering. The city claims the project will be completed by fall, but after our experience with Hipkins, I have little faith in that timeline.
Our store barely survived the last round of construction. Now, we’re being forced to endure it all over again—without clear answers, without compensation, and without meaningful support from the city.
— Broken Promises and Unanswered Questions —
I’ve asked for updates. I’ve asked for solutions. I’ve asked for anything that acknowledges the financial and emotional toll this is taking on us. Instead, we get the same empty reassurances:
“It’ll be done soon.”
“This is for the betterment of the city.”
“The road isn’t completely closed off this time”
Yes, I understand that infrastructure improvements are necessary. But what about the small businesses? What about the owners, employees, and families who depend on them? For nearly three years now, we’ve been caught in this cycle of construction with no relief.
— A Familiar Struggle —
When the city first started construction on Hipkins Road in September 2023, they assured us it would be wrapped up by early 2024. We took them at their word. We accepted the temporary inconvenience, believing that better roads and improved access would be worth it in the long run.
Reality told a different story.
That project dragged on (nearly one and a half year) far longer than promised. The constant road closures, blocked entrances, and construction delays drained us financially and emotionally. By the time it was over, we had lost nearly $730,000 in revenue and nearly exhausted our business savings just to keep the doors open.
And now, it’s happening again.
— No End in Sight —
Construction on Steilacoom Boulevard is set to last another year, probably longer if history repeats itself. And just like before, we are left to deal with the consequences while the city provides little in the way of updates, assistance, or accountability.
Customers, who already struggled to reach us during the last round of construction, are once again facing detours, traffic congestion, and blocked access points on some days. Business is taking another major hit, and after barely surviving the Hipkins ordeal, we now face another long, grueling battle to stay afloat. We were picking back up after the Hipkins construction pretty well, but now we are back down again. Massively.
So I want to ask the city
1. How long will this really last?
2. What is being done to help the businesses that are suffering?
3. Do they even recognize the impact this has on us?
I don’t want vague assurances that the project “needed to be done” or “they let us know before-hand”. (Okay they mailed us a little card that the project was going to happen, but what good does that do. It’s not like they won’t do the construction if we say no).
— A Call for Action —
Meanwhile, our bills don’t stop. Our employees need their paychecks. Our family depends on this store. Yet, we’re now just trying to survive while the city pushes forward with its plans.
We’ll keep our doors open as best we can. I’ll be here supporting my parents and their business that they have been growing since the 2010s. But my gosh, the city needs to step up, because at this rate, we won’t be the only ones struggling to survive.
I understand your position and I am so glad you put this article out to let everyone else know how much this is impacting your welfare.
I THINK THE CITY SHOULD ACCOMMODATE YOUR FAMILY DURING THIS SPECIFIED TIME OF CONSTRUCTION.
THEY SHOULD BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR THEIR PROJECTS AND A STIPEND TO YOU WOULD KEEP THEM ON TASK AND ASSURE COMPLETION IN A TIMELY MANNER.
I AM SURE THEY HAVE FUNDS THEY CAN MOVE, AND IF NOT, A DONATION FUND SHOULD BE STARTED ASAP.
I KNOW THE CITY HAS NOT CONSIDERED THE CONSEQUENCES OF THESE PROJECTS, BUT THEY REALLY NEED A STIPEND/COMPENSATION TO BUSINESSES THAT ARE DIRECTLY AFFECTED.
THEY NEED TO BE AWARE AND KEPT HONEST WITH THEIR WORK.
GOOD LUCK.
Unreal. These letters are out of pocket. You be saying you lost almost 3/4 of a million dollars in energy drink and candy sales? Since I’ve been in the area (nearly a decade now), that store hardly has had a person at it, and I have been a frequent flyer customer. That is long before either of the projects you’re talking about ensued. I’d love to see evidence of prior years’ revenues being so much higher – especially during covid. Not to mention your false claims toward the past project of “nearly one and a half years;” it was done in less than a year.
I drive across Steilacoom Blvd on 83rd/Hipkins every day on my way to and from work and not once has the new road job had your store entrance blocked, and other than a few times I had access to your store during the last project too.
I’m sure running a small business like that is tough but quit trying to pass off blame for your alleged lost profits to others. I, for one, will no longer be patronizing your store because of this and your past letter.
I feel for you Sam.
I’ve been through that situation many times with city street work.
Whenever a private company impacts access to our business property, a phone call to management generally leads to a mutually-agreed upon compensation for lost income.
That same phone call to a government phone leads to nothing.
I’ve attended many planning meetings where I told them that partial compensation for disruption of business should be part of the project budget. Crickets……….
Oh, and don’t forget to pay your property taxes next month or they’ll take that away from you too.
I’m glad you brought this up because most people who are not small business owners (most people) have no idea how resilient we have to be to stay alive.
I will add a bit of context that may have lacked in the original post.
My parents assumed the business in the late 2010s at the start of covid. For people who’ve been coming in regularly will know that the store has massively improved since then (cleanliness, merchandise, price of items).
It was initially not great because the previous owner didn’t tend to the store as much as our family has (pre-2019). The store has had significant improvements (bringing in different merchandise that the customers requested and selling items at a significant lower price than stores around us). However starting 2023 when the construction began, it has been impacting the store. We do have the store data that does show a significant drop the past two years.
It’s just an additional context for those that may be thinking “how can a small business lose that much business revenue”. Although it may seem so, this is a livelihood for my family and we’ve significantly spent so much time and effort to bring the best for this community. I would very much appreciate it if you could understand this aspect before questioning the post! Thank you!