TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — It's called the Sunshine Mile: A historic cultural district along Broadway Boulevard that many businesses call home.
Since January 2020, business owners have had to find ways to survive the construction from the Broadway Improvement Project.
Some were able to keep their businesses going, while others have had to leave the area.
HiEndTight Barber Shop has been in the area for 11 years. For owner Hathym Al Saadawi, the lack of foot traffic was a problem.
“It’s been a very hard challenge, because nobody walked outside,” said Al Saadawi.
And with so few customers, he also lost employees.
“And I put in my website. But still, nobody came in.”
Al Saadawi hopes the Sunshine Mile grand opening will change that.
For Barrio Bread owner Don Guerra, he’s faced challenges as well. He’s been in business on this stretch of Broadway since 2016, but construction slowed that down.
“I have a clientele where a majority are over the age of 60, and so when they’re faced with challenges like construction and navigating that, they’re really reluctant to come visit,” Guerra said
His commitment to growing his own grain for his fresh bread has fed his customers throughout the construction.
“Thankfully people find their way and enough people find their way to make it sustainable to operate here,” said Guerra.
Just down the road, Otaku Nation owner Jeremy Daniel had just opened his business when construction started. But he had hope.
“In the long run, construction’s not going to last forever,” Daniel said.
And in the end, that hope payed off. His business has seen consistent growth since the end of 2020.
“Even during construction, there was still a lot of traffic going slower than usual on Broadway and we found a lot of people were able to actually see us,” said Daniel.
Overall the businesses are hoping to bring in more neighbors, customers, and employees to help their business.
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Reyna Preciado is a reporter for KGUN 9, she joined the KGUN 9 team in July of 2022 after graduating Arizona State University. Share your story ideas with Reyna by emailing reyna.preciado@kgun9.com or by connecting on Instagram, or Twitter.
