Margaret Ave businesses on rebound

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - More than a month after construction ended on Terre Haute’s Margaret Avenue, some nearby businesses reported they are beginning to recover from the loss of business and traffic during the project.

At Books, DVDs and Games, a shop in the Southland Shopping Center, owner Mike Padgett said visits to his store had dropped off during construction but have begun to rebound.

“We’re starting to get the people coming back now,” Padgett said. “It’s taken a little time, but we’re getting everybody back now. We are getting some new people and new customers, actually.”

Padgett also said that, during construction, many of those who work around Margaret Avenue patronized one another’s businesses.

At Sarge’s Shoe Repair, owner Brad Smith said he has also seen an increase in business, though he said it is not clear how much of that increase is street-related.

“Normally, this time of year, we’re really busy anyway,” Smith said. “So I don’t know that the road opening up helped, but it certainly didn’t hurt.”

Smith said he hopes the new infrastructure along Margaret will help draw new business and new jobs.

“If we could just, now that we’ve got a nice road down here, get something that’s really a draw that’s not a hotel or restaurant,” Smith said. “Something that we can get some jobs.”

For his part, Padgett said he hopes more community members will begin shopping and frequenting the small businesses along Margaret Avenue.