‘This is the worst’: Family-owned business to close after 30 years due to road construction

LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD/Gray News) – Longtime business owners in Texas say an ongoing road construction project has forced them to close their doors by the end of the year.

Gail and Bill Roberts purchased Galaxy Pawn in 1995.

They said it was their dream to be able to work together as husband and wife and their customers through the years have become more like family.

“It’s amazing how many of the kids call us nana and papa which is what our grandkids call us,” Bill Roberts said. “It really feels like we just got here, but we’ve been here 30 years.”

It is just another reason why the decision to close the store is so hard.

“Our last day as a pawn business will be Dec. 31. It will be with tears. We have put our life into this,” Gail Roberts said.

In June 2022, construction began on 19th Street; the road runs directly in front of Galaxy Pawn.

The $25 million project is expected to rebuild portions of the existing roadway and update the drainage system, sidewalks and traffic signals.

But the Roberts say their business has slowed since the project started back in 2022.

“We did have five employees, but now we are just down to a part-timer,” Bill Roberts said.

It’s a financial hit from which the Roberts say they can’t recover.

Choo Chai restaurant is just a few blocks away from the Roberts pawn shop.

The restaurant owner, Than Rittiluechai, says his business has also taken a hit since the road construction started.

“It might put me into early retirement. We’ve been here 42 years, and this is the worst thing that’s ever happened,” he said.

Rittiluechai’s mother started the restaurant in 1982, and while there have been struggles along the way, like the 2020 pandemic, he says nothing has taken a toll on the business like the construction project.

His restaurant is currently inaccessible from 19th Street.

“The problem is that nobody can get to me now,” Rittiluechai said.

Customers must take the alley to get to his restaurant – a detour people aren’t taking.

“Essentially we have lost half of our business,” he said.

Bill Hanselman is the president of The Computer Guy located further east near Avenue S.

Hanselman said customers are having difficulty getting into his business too.

“They said they we’re going to have access to every business, but I don’t really consider this much access,” he said.

Hanselman lost his leg just one month before the project began. He said the construction has made the adjustment even more challenging.

“They came in and asked if I needed my sidewalk for anything and I thought that was one of the most ludicrous questions I had heard recently. I said, ‘Yes, so people can get from my parking lot to the front door,’” he said.

But Hanselman said not many people use the sidewalk or the parking lot because not many people come to his shop at all.

“Three months with no money and all the bills that keep coming in. I don’t have any money left,” Hanselman said.

According to the Roberts, they are also out of money.

“We have poured everything into this. I left another job, and I put my pension into this. It’s been great for us except for the last few years,” Gail Roberts said.

State Senator Charles Perry said the work being done is not a quick-fix project.

“It’s not a simple road construction job now. It’s a road construction job with sewer, water, and infrastructure needs. Compounding that, you take a state entity and a local entity, they each have planned schedules that have different things going on and we are still not back to pre-COVID supply contractors,” Perry said.

Some business owners said better communication would be appreciated but the damage has already been done.

Senator Perry said if the construction project is not wrapped up by January 1, 2025, he believes the state should step in to help those business owners who are struggling.

The Roberts said it’s too late to save their business, but they hope there will be financial assistance to save their neighbors.

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