Construction equipment was parked on Queen Avenue in front of Fay’s Cafe on the evening of Aug. 4.
Queen Avenue in Albany has been closed to through traffic for weeks while the street is being rebuilt. Businesses are open but feel the effects in reduced activity and sales.
One of the them is Fay’s Cafe at the southwest corner of Queen and Elm Street, where I stopped on a bike ride Tuesday afternoon to pick up an order to go.
I spoke to the owner, Fei Jiang, and she confirmed that her business has taken a substantial hit since the road-closure signs went up and the street excavations began.
It’s possible, as the signs say, for vehicles to reach businesses like this one, or the Dari Mart store across the street. But it takes extra effort and care to get around the barricades and the utility cuts covered with steel plates.
Negotiating the construction site is easier, by the way, on a bike with fat tires.
K&E Excavating, of Salem, has the $6.2 million contract to rebuild Queen Avenue from the western city limit to beyond Pacific Boulevard.
The section from the Calapooia bridge to Pacific, including the Elm Street intersection, is to be completed by Sept. 1. The contract promises the contractor a bonus of $2,500 per day for beating the deadline. On the other hand it calls for a $2,500 penalty for every day completion is delayed beyond Sept. 1.
Fei Jiang hopes her business can hang on that long. The more customers make their way to her cafe past the construction, the better her chances look. (hh)
I’ll go there. I had intended to go to the Cafe, which is near Memorial Middle School, a while back and haven’t gotten it done. What did you order for take-out? And, is that what you would recommend?
Two sandwiches. Both very good.
Thanks. I’ll order a sandwich.
I hope it’s done before school starts up again. There’ll be a lot more headaches if not. Traffic around the high school is bad enough normally.
Sad to see BurgerQueen closed down and now it’s a cafe. Will try cafe one these days thanks for the update H.
Actually it is the same owner, and she still has burgers, fries, and shakes but also added other items to the menu.
It’s actually the same owner as Burger Queen, she just rebranded and added some items to the menu :)
Same restaurant just the name changed.
I remember this intersection. Close to home and work.
Great memories of Albany.
Wouldn’t that be the southwest corner of that intersection H?
Yes of course, the southwest corner. Thanks. I made the fix in the story.
I think Fay’s also has Bubble Tea! They are worth checking out :)