<\/p>\n
Juju’s Coffee, which is tucked on a side street of Skillman in East Dallas, is the restaurant that’s most affected by Oncor construction so far. But neighboring businesses, like a cleaners, a rug shop and a bagel store, are also concerned the six-week project will bring about lower sales and parking problems.<\/p>\n
Anja Schlein\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
As\u00a0Oncor crews tunnel under Skillman Street in East Dallas in a six-week project to install underground electrical facilities, the small businesses affected are begging customers to come back.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
At Juju\u2019s Coffee and Benny\u2019s Bagels, Oncor construction has removed many of the nearby parking spaces. An excavator parked between orange barricades near Benny\u2019s Bagel\u2019s has rendered its closest accessible spots temporarily unusable. Heavy machinery blocks sight lines to Juju\u2019s Coffee and its neighbors, US Cleaners and a rug store called Oushak Atelier.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a “logistical nightmare\u201d that could be detrimental to Juju\u2019s, said Julia\u00a0Rocha, the coffee shop\u2019s namesake and co-owner.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Pedestrians have likely noticed the construction on this East Dallas block, which began July 20, 2026. It started right before the beginning of the school year, Rocha\u2019s husband, Nick Rocha, added.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople make their routines at the beginning of the school year, and they keep them,\u201d he said. The Rochas are concerned regulars will see the blockades and construction equipment and decide to visit another coffee shop.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Construction from an Oncor project in East Dallas is affecting Benny’s Bagels, which lost its side parking, including accessible spots.<\/p>\n
Anja Schlein\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
Frank\u00a0Fasci shares the concern. He bought Benny\u2019s Bagels in East Dallas just under three years ago, though the shop has been open near the Lakewood neighborhood for 30 years.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are a lot of bagel places,\u201d Fasci said. Any extra \u201cfriction,\u201d as he put it, requiring customers to park farther away or walk a few extra blocks, could mean lost sales in summertime, when some restaurants in Dallas-Fort Worth already see a seasonal dip.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Fasci said he\u2019s also frustrated that the job needs to be done at his doorstep, yet he doesn\u2019t feel that Oncor\u2019s work benefits him directly.<\/p>\n
Oncor has marked the project mandatory. It runs down La Vista in a straight line, underneath Skillman Street to Live Oak. Installing power underground will \u201cimprove reliability for consumers at large,\u201d Oncor spokesperson Roxana Rubio explained.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t really improve our power needs,\u201d Fasci said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
As Nick and Julia\u00a0Rocha smile outside of their East Dallas coffee shop Juju’s, an\u00a0excavator dumps dirt a few feet away.<\/p>\n
Anja Schlein\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
Nick and Julia Rocha sit inside Juju’s Coffee in Dallas on a Tuesday, their roast day.<\/p>\n
Anja Schlein\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
Despite the roadblocks, both sets of business owners said they feel supported by the East Dallas community. The Rochas contacted District 14 Dallas City Councilman Paul Ridley, who helped them gather details on the scope of the Oncor project before it began. It is expected to end in late August.<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Oncor has installed orange traffic signs pointing customers to Juju\u2019s, the business most hidden by construction. So far, the owners of Juju\u2019s do not believe Oncor\u2019s work will force their shop to close.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur goal was to be the most vocal business owners,\u201d Nick said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe feel everyone understands this could be detrimental.\u201d<\/p>\n
Benny\u2019s Bagels has seen a small decrease in business. Juju\u2019s owners have noticed a similar drop. They ask for patience and patronage in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd also,\u201d Julia added, \u201cwe ask that our neighbors are kind to the construction workers and contractors, who are just doing their jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Juju\u2019s Coffee is at 6038 La Vista Drive, Dallas. Closed Tuesdays.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Benny\u2019s Bagels is at 1901 Skillman St., Dallas. Open seven days a week.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Juju’s Coffee, which is tucked on a side street of Skillman in East Dallas, is the restaurant that’s…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":980340,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,324798,1596,358,324475,325725,330008,337543,347666,393392,324714,393393,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-980339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-america","tag-business-retail","tag-dallas","tag-texas","tag-tp-traffic","tag-tp-bakery","tag-tp-breakfast","tag-tp-east-dallas","tag-tp-fwddfw","tag-tp-oncor","tag-tp-restaurants","tag-tp-small-business-fwddfw","tag-tx","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117037999585054442","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/980339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=980339"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/980339\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/980340"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=980339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=980339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=980339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}