Daytona Beach business owners beg county for help during street construction

Business owners seek help during road construction

Two Daytona Beach businesses have closed because of road construction on Atlantic Ave. and International Speedway Blvd.. The store owners are asking for county money to keep from losing everything.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Two Daytona Beach businesses have closed because of road construction on Atlantic Ave. and International Speedway Blvd.. The store owners are asking for county money to keep from losing everything.

"It's just been a complete disaster. It looks like a war zone out there," said Sam Tadros, owner of Sam's Coal Fired Pizza.

Tadros made the comments at the most recent meeting of the Volusia County Council.

"This week is three months; hardly any work has been done. Last two or three weeks, it's just been two to three people there working," Tadros said.

Workers have closed the beach access ramp, and the parking area is now a construction zone, forcing Tadros' shop and the neighboring gift store to shut down. Zoltan Kerekes owns the gift store and has worked in Daytona Beach for forty years.

"This has caused a significant drop in foot traffic and visibility, resulting in an 80% to 100% decline in our business," Kerekes said.

Despite the construction slamming their businesses, Kerekes said they still had obligations to their landlords and others.

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"The financial straits are considerable. We are facing expenses: rent, wages, utility, etc. Roughly about $400 a day."

Volusia County staff released this statement about the construction:

"Renovation of the ISB Ramp is a much-needed upgrade that will benefit the entire community, and we’re expediting construction as much as possible. As with any project, our goal is to ensure minimal disruption to businesses and residents while delivering a high-quality result in the most efficient timeline. To further reduce construction time, we coordinated with the adjacent FDOT road improvement project, and we’re pleased to report that our project remains on schedule."

Tadros and Kerekes are asking the county for support to help them make it through until construction is finalized.

"I am asking if there's any kind of funding the county can provide at least to help cover our utilities and rent, just to get us through this," Tadros said.

The business owners didn't get a response from county officials at the meeting. County staff said the project was still set to wrap up in February.

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