CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — For restaurants near the old Harbor Bridge, the demolition project has brought more than just dust and detours — it has driven customers away. Businesses like Hoegemeyers Barbecue hope things will turn around once the old bridge comes down.
"We're just trying to keep our heads above water," said David Page, owner of Hoegemeyers Barbecue.
Hoegemeyers Barbecue is a local restaurant near the old Harbor Bridge that has been serving the Coastal Bend since 2013. The restaurant offers all sorts of barbecue plates.
Page said business has been slow and customers have been driven away for years due to their location.
"TxDOT dropped a couple of concrete barricades at the exits that came from Portland so all of our customers coming from across the crossway had to do the hokey pokey through downtown and then come back around and try to find us," Page said.
Years after the placement of barricades, he said the old bridge demolition is adding to the traffic chaos.
"We've had to deal with traffic situations, people trying to find us," Page said.
Page said this year has been a big hit in sales for the restaurant.
"September is typically the slowest month of the year for the restaurant business and it was incredibly slow, slower than COVID," Page said.
As the old Harbor Bridge still stands and the center span is lowered this week, he has high hopes for a wave of customers to come in and sales to go up.
"We haven't thought about closing. We're going to stick around," Page said.
TxDOT said lowering of the old Harbor Bridge is expected to resume Thursday.
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