TYLER, Texas — Construction of the new UT Tyler School of Medicine is currently underway and is set to open in 2025. As of Wednesday, Levi Rodriquez, co-owner of Jumpshot Coffee, said the closure of a main road to their shop is impacting them and other businesses in the area.
The coffee shop is located right next to two major health systems in Tyler just off of South Fleishel Ave. Rodriquez said their shop has been noticing a heavy hit in revenue since the intersection of that roadway and Lake Street has been blocked off because of construction of the medical school.
"Unfortunately, we are down under 50% of what our revenue should be because of it," Rodriquez said. "It's blocking a major artery on Fleishel Ave., where the majority of our customers would normally come in to work and receive their morning cup of coffee."
Rodriquez said the closure was unannounced and they’ve yet to hear directly from the school or city about how this was going to begin last month. His main concern is how he and neighboring businesses can stay afloat without the direct route from the avenue.
Detour signage has been set up on that intersection so drivers know how to get around. The university said this road closure is to allow for infrastructure modifications to accommodate the new construction in the area.
But for Jumpshot Coffee and nearby businesses this has become a problem.
"A lot of our normal patrons who would normally stop now say they can't get to us," Rodriquez said. "We've even had reports that people are getting pulled over trying to get around the detour to come down this avenue to come get coffee and that's just unacceptable."
In a statement, UT Tyler extended its sincerest apologies for any inconvenience local businesses and homeowners may have experienced due to the construction.
"We expect this phase of the project to be complete by the end of November allowing for the road to reopen. However, there may be additional impacts in the future," the statement read.
Rodriquez said Jumpshot is super ecstatic that the school is coming to Tyler.
"But at the same time it's killing our small business and a lot of the local small businesses around here," he said.
The owners of Jumpshot Coffee, Levi and Sasha Rodriquez, are Colorado natives who came to Tyler to start their business a year ago. They said it’s been a beautiful journey but hope to receive more communication about further construction developments.
"It's a great thing to have new construction and to bring new life into the city but it's unacceptable to not communicate with the local businesses, the people surrounding and the people who could really hurt and damage," Levi Rodriquez said.
The recent water boil notice in the city also majorly impacted their revenue as well. The couple fears that if things don't turn around soon that they could lose their shop. They owners said after dealing with these obstacles, they hope residents will continue to support them and drive through the area safely.