For the last several years, Wheat Ridge businesses along the Wadsworth Boulevard corridor have had to deal with fewer customers — and less revenue — since a $60 million street improvement project began.
Brewery Rickoli, 4335 Wadsworth Blvd., on the southwest corner of 44th Avenue and Wadsworth, is one affected business.
Owner and brewmaster Rick Abitbol called the timing of the project “catastrophic.”
“They started right on the heels of (the COVID-19 pandemic) and that really hurt us,” he explained. “People are still just getting back into their regular habits from that. And our access is not too good anyway so to have all this work going on has really been a hurdle we didn’t need right away.”
Abitbol estimates his business revenue is down 50% to 55% over the last three years. The 12-year-old brewery has only one employee plus Abitbol, who works four nights a week.
“We’ve just been so whittled down by this construction on top of COVID,” he said.
Abitbol said the city did a “pretty good job” of communicating via email newsletters when the work started but those seem to have lessened in frequency.
“I think the last one I got was about three weeks ago,” he added.
Abitbol said he’s been able to replace some of his lost revenue through more beer sales to liquor stores and other outlets.
“That’s what’s discouraging; we make good beer and we’ve had regulars who support us, but it’s just not enough,” he stated. “It’s tough when you’re just getting by month to month. But I think as long as it doesn’t get any worse, we can hunker down and survive.”
Mestizo Brew Cantina, 6800 W. 38th Ave., at 38th and Pierce Street, is owned by Ryan Piec. He called the street projects “a pain in the butt.”
“Not just as a business owner; we’ve had to change the route we take to get our kids to school when it’s in session,” he noted.
Still, as a newer business, Piec said he can’t say for sure the street work has affected his bottom line yet.
“We only opened in January of 2023, so we don’t have a lot of (past revenue figures) to compare it to,” he stated. “I’d think it has probably cut down on the people who may drive by and decide to stop in for a beer or dinner because they don’t want to fight their way in to park.”
Piec said he’s had to be more “intentional” to find new business.
“We’re very much a neighborhood spot compared to a chain restaurant,” he added.
As a newer business, Piec said he hasn’t made any changes such as cutting hours or staff just yet.
“That’s one thing we’ve been talking about this week,” he added. “How to stay open with the workers we have and find a way to keep the kitchen open longer in the summer.”
To help Wadsworth businesses, Localworks is running a promotion through the end of July that makes customers and businesses eligible for cash prizes. Winners are to be announced in early August.
State limits work hours near holidays
Maria DeAndrea, Wheat Ridge public works director, said if drivers and residents noticed what appeared to be skeleton crews at times, there could be a couple of factors involved.
One might be a lack of contractor employees, much like other private businesses since the pandemic. The other is a state of Colorado requirement for work to halt at noon on the day before holidays, such as the Fourth of July, and then not restart until noon of the day after the holiday, not including weekends.
DeAndrea noted that since Wadsworth is State Highway 121, it is subject to state requirements. City crews are not subject to those types of requirements, she added.
Another reason motorists might have been more recently aggravated about the detours and delays, she stated, was a 3- to 4-week closure of a portion of 38th Avenue that is now open.
Overall, work on the Wadsworth widening project — which began in 2021 — is on schedule and budget.
“The crews have made some good progress this month since it’s been dry and not raining,” DeAndrea said. “By the end of August, we should have all permanent northbound lanes open and we can move all the traffic to that side of the road.”
The project is still scheduled to be finished — except landscaping — in the spring of 2026.
While that work continues, DeAndrea said more projects will soon begin.
Those include a speed hump installation neighborhood traffic calming program on five streets and concrete curb, gutter and sidewalk repairs plus pedestrian ramp installations on various streets in August and September. An annual slurry seal pavement project is planned for September and October, DeAndrea added.
Crews also recently replaced portions of streets damaged by sewer drainage systems that had failed, she noted.
Also ongoing through the spring of 2025 are two Colorado Department of Transportation bridge replacement and interchange safety improvement projects. One is at Interstate 70 and Harlan Street and the other is at I-70 and Ward Road.
