An Uptown construction project in Minneapolis is nearing its end but business owners on Hennepin Avenue worry it doesn't mean there is light is at the end of the tunnel.

"We would be buzzing here," said Nadine Schaefer, the co-owner of Namaste Cafe.

The stretch of late summer like temperatures would normally draw in the crowds, but businesses on the southern part of Hennepin Avenue say that hasn't been the reality.

"The bar would be full. These tables would be full," said Stephanie Shimp of Blue Plate Restaurant Company, who owns The Lowry.

In spring of 2024, the City of Minneapolis began phase one of a two-year construction project in Uptown, closing the typically busy corridor for the past two summers. All to improve citygoers' ability to walk, ride transit, drive and more.

Newly po

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