Small NKY businesses report decrease in sales as bridge closure impacts holiday shopping

BELLEVUE, Ky. (WKRC) – The closure of the southbound lanes on the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge is taking a toll on small businesses in Bellevue, with owners reporting a drop in holiday shopping traffic.

Cleves & Lonnemann Jewelers has been a staple in the community for more than 90 years.

“Christmas is by far the biggest thing,” said owner Michael Cleves. “All the businesses along here in Bellevue need the Christmas business to stay alive for the next year.”

Cleves said that his store is missing the usual lunch hour traffic.

“People can’t make it over here and back in an hour, hour and a half like they used to,” said Cleves.

Employees at Coda Co. and the Kentucky Botanical Company said that they’ve noticed that the bridge closure is also discouraging weekend shoppers.

“It’s definitely been a lot slower than the past couple of years just because it’s a lot harder to get into Bellevue because of the bridge,” said McKenzie Henegar, an employee at Coda Co. “A lot of other shops around here have also been feeling that as well.”

Christian Watt from the Kentucky Botanical Company reported a 20% decrease in sales compared to previous years.

“I can go in and look at our different categories and our traffic patterns, and you can tell that it’s definitely the differences occurring on the weekends when we would have visitors coming,” Watt said.

She said that 20% is a big deal to the small businesses in the area.

“When small businesses are down, it isn’t just the shop owner’s livelihood that’s being impacted. It trickles down. I have five employees who I have to take care of,” Watt said.

As the weekend before Christmas approaches, Bellevue store owners are urging locals to consider buying last-minute holiday gifts in the area.

“Bellevue is like a little tiny Kentucky Hallmark town,” Watt said. “I think that this last weekend before Christmas, people can come in and really just get their Christmas vibe on.”

“Yeah, we know it’s hard. Try your best; support the small businesses. The big businesses will be there forever,” said Cleves.