Another Bethesda restaurant says that nearby construction is causing customers to stay away.
The owners of Tyber Bierhaus, a new restaurant and bar on Old Georgetown Road, are currently in discussions with Kettler after they said business has declined following the sidewalk closure caused by construction of the Element 28 high-rise apartment building.
Work crews recently erected a construction fence around the perimeter of the Element 28 site, including the sidewalks on Old Georgetown Road and Commerce Lane.
Alberto Donoso, the project manager for Kettler, which is developing the 101-unit luxury apartment building, said that he is working with the restaurant and the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Chamber of Commerce to resolve the problem.
“[T]he reason for the sidewalk closure on our site is that the excavation goes from property line to property line all the way around, so the only safety buffer between the site and the public is the sidewalk,” Donoso said in an email to Bethesda Beat. “There are also certain construction supporting elements that must be put on the site (the two containers currently in the Old Georgetown Road sidewalk are a temporary power shed and a safety trailer) and the only available location for those is the sidewalk. This is why the sidewalk closures were approved by both Montgomery County and State Highway Administration.”
Donoso said Kettler is working to improve Tyber Bierhaus’ “street presence,” adding that “We are actually in the process of creating several signs for them that will be placed on our construction fence.”
Pedestrians navigating the road along the fence on Old Georgetown Road often have to walk one of the travel lanes, with little space between them and the cars that pass by.
Ken Hartman, director of the Bethesda/Chevy Chase Regional Services Center, said Kettler was granted an easement by the state to close the sidewalk on Old Georgetown, a state road. His offices are across the street from the closure, and he said the sidewalk closure frustrates him, but that “Kettler told the state there was no way to avoid closing the sidewalk.”
A number of local business have complained recently that the commercial construction projects are hurting their business.
Perhaps the worst situation is on Fairmont Avenue, where two high rise apartment buildings are being constructed simultaneously across the street from each other.
“Right now, it’s basically a backstreet in a big town,” said Jimmy Traettino, owner of Positano Ristorante Italiano at 4940 Fairmont Ave. He said he’s dealt with trucks parking in front his business, customers who don’t want to navigate closed sidewalks and a decrease in business.
Traettino said he’s thankful his restaurant, which opened in 1977, has a long history in the city and that the restaurant’s large party rooms have kept his business afloat as foot traffic declined.
Traettino said other area restaurants on the street haven’t been so lucky.
Fresh Grill and Red Tomato Café closed after claims that their buildings were damaged by construction at the Bainbridge Bethesda apartment building. Fresh Grill’s landlord later won a lawsuit over the issue, and the same landlord has filed suit over structural issues at the building that housed Red Tomato Café on St. Elmo Avenue.
Bold Bite, the burger and hot dog fast casual restaurant at 4901 Fairmont Ave., has also been affected, says owner Alonso Roche. Across from his restaurant, workers are constructing the 17-floor 7770 Norfolk apartment building that’s being developed by The JBG Companies and Ross Development. That construction is expected to take another two years to complete. Next door to Bold Bite is Bainbridge’s building, which is expected to be finished in the next month.
The simultaneous construction has created a litany of problems, ranging from sidewalks on both sides of the street being closed, to a 
constant flow of construction vehicles, to temporary road closures.
Roche said his restaurant relies on foot traffic, which has declined. He recently had to end dinner service after barely being able to cover the cost of labor.
“It’s been tough,” said Roche, who stressed that both construction companies have been good neighbors to his business, with workers often coming in and buying breakfast or lunch. And with the potential of hundreds of new residents, Roche says there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. “In the long run, it’s going to be good for us,” he said.
But right now, compared with neighboring retail streets such as Cordell and Norfolk avenues, Fairmont seems to be a ghost town.
Charlie Maier, a spokesman for The JBG Companies, said in an email that the company’s practice is to “communicate with the neighbors early and often, and we insist our contractors do the same.”
He said JBG is working with the county’s economic development office and encouraging construction employees to eat at local restaurants. He said the company is also working with the county to provide off-street parking for construction workers to avoid taking street parking spots.
County officials are also trying to limit the problems, at least to keep pedestrians safe, while the two projects are built simultaneously.
“We’ve gotten a lot of complaints,” said Hartman, as he stood examining the projects at the corner of Norfolk and Fairmont avenues on Tuesday morning. “We’re working with both developers.”
Hartman said Montgomery County has asked developers to make sure they’ve properly marked access to the sidewalk by providing signage or using cones to guide pedestrians around the construction.
He said construction-related problems have gotten worse recently because Bainbridge is about six months behind schedule, causing the two projects to overlap. He said the Bainbridge building is expected to be completed sometime in the next month, at which point the sidewalk on that side of the road is expected to open.
7770 Norfolk was given a permit to close the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street with the assumption that the other sidewalk would be open, Hartman said.
As Hartman spoke with Bethesda Beat, a worker moved a sign guiding pedestrians to the path around the construction away from the site, making it unclear where people should walk.
“This is exactly what our inspectors have to deal with,” Hartman said, adding that officials also have asked the companies to keep both lanes open on the street, but that it’s often narrowed to one lane as trucks pull in and out.
