HARRISON, Ohio — Eatery and Angilos in Harrison is struggling with what its general manager calls a construction-driven gut punch.
General Manager Bridget Anderson said the Dry Fork Road Bridge Rehabilitation Project, which began in early July, has slashed sales by nearly 50%, driven away staff and forced the restaurant to scale back operations.
"The business in general has really kind of taken a kick in the gut here," Anderson said.
The project involves widening the bridge over Interstate 74 to add turn lanes at the I-74 on-ramps, widening the westbound I-74 off-ramp and adding sidewalks and traffic lights along the bridge. The eastbound I-74 on-ramps and off-ramps reopened earlier this month. The westbound interchange ramps are now closed for 45 days.
WATCH: Construction hit this Harrison business hard. Now they're asking for help
The project is expected to be complete by spring 2027.
Anderson said the restaurant had been on an upward trajectory before construction began. A new owner had renovated the building, the staff was growing, and the business was drawing a loyal lunch crowd.
"Pre-construction, we were a thriving new business that the community was excited and happy about," Anderson said. "There was a lot of drive-by traffic, people stopping in just to see the renovation and what we had done with it, because this place had been here for so long."
She said that momentum stalled when the road closed.
"Now, it's a ghost town down here at this corner of Harrison Avenue, and all the businesses are down," Anderson said.
Anderson said the restaurant's core customer base — blue-collar workers on tight lunch schedules — has been among the hardest hit. Many rely on call-ahead orders and quick pickups, but the detour has made that routine impractical for some.
"We have had people call in and ask if that exit is open yet, and when we have to tell them no, it is not, they decide not to place an order," Anderson said.
To cope, management reduced employee hours and closed the restaurant entirely on Sundays.
"It just wasn't justifiable — the cost of running the ovens and the payroll for the day when we're barely doing any business," Anderson said.
Anderson said she does not dispute the need for the project.
"The bridge obviously had some structural issues. It needed to be done. We're not disputing that in any way," she said. "We're just kind of feeling like we're catching the brunt of all of this."
If conditions worsen, Anderson said the next step would likely be eliminating night and weekend hours.
"The owner may just decide that he doesn't want to continue with the business, and he may end up closing the business down and walking away," Anderson said.
I reached out to the City of Harrison for this story. As of publication, the city had not responded.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
