Several small businesses off the edge of campus are experiencing fewer customers due to construction projects concentrating around Alder Street. and East 13th Ave.
Construction for the new student apartment building Chapter Alder began in September 2025 and resulted in the partial closure and pedestrian rerouting at Alder Street and East 13th Ave. In January, construction also began on an additional student apartment building at the former site of Espreso Roma and Maple Garden Restaurant at 13th Ave. and Alder Street. Construction on Chapter Alder is expected to be completed in time for the building to open for the 2027–28 school year.
According to several business owners, they received little to no notice about the construction. Any notice they did receive came through the mail in the form of what Sy’s New York Pizza owner Josh Zweifler described as “small postcards.”
“Those postcards have very little information, and basically they just say, ‘Hey, something is happening; if you have a problem with it, come to the meeting on this date,’ which is usually a week or less away from when you receive the notice,” Zweifler said.
Sai Pituk, owner of Cluckin’ Dog, said her restaurant and several other Asian restaurants on the block did not receive notices about the construction at all.
“None of us got notice. All of us knew construction was coming just because of hearsay, but in terms of an official notice, we didn’t get anything,” Pituk said.
Pituk said that after construction began, Cluckin’ Dog has seen a 79% decrease in sales compared with the previous year. If sales do not change in the next three months, Pituk said she will have to close the shop.
“My parents immigrated, so I’m a first-generation American. They’re seeing their hard work come to fruition,” Pituk said. “My daughter is a freshman at UO, and I don’t know if I could pay her bill much longer. I might have to pull her out, which is really sad, and quite frankly, I don’t want my dad to see that happen.”
With construction just beginning, business owners said they were told the expected timeline is about 20 months. However, several owners said they believe it may take longer.
“It’s supposed to take 20 months, but we can already see that delays are happening. There hasn’t been a single person working back here for about seven days now,” Zweifler said. “It’s very rare to see construction projects finish on time or ahead of schedule, so 20 months could easily turn into two, two-and-a-half years.”
With construction taking over street parking, parking has also become an issue, with all parking on East 13th Ave. between Alder and Kincaid streets and most parking on Alder Street removed.
Zweifler said the now-closed PeaceHealth hospital across the street previously offered public parking spots that business owners could use, but due to demolition, they must now pay significantly more for parking.
“I used to pay $140 for two parking spots where Cafe Roma was,” Pituk said. “Now, if I can find it, I pay roughly $450 a month for one parking spot. I feel like, as a small business, we’re just getting hit from left and right.”
Although construction has led to a decrease in business, some owners said they are not entirely opposed to development on their street.
“We’re not here trying to stop progress, because we understand that it could be good for us,” Pituk said. “What we’re trying to do is find partnerships that allow us to survive the 20 months.”
