By Madeline Condor | Staff Writer
East Waco’s historic Elm Avenue officially opened to traffic on Sept. 19 for the first time since 2019.
“The construction project included reconstruction of everything in the right-of-way on Elm Avenue from MLK Boulevard to Spring Street,” a City of Waco statement reads. “Improvements included sidewalk, streetscape, drainage, waterline, and accessibility updates. New pedestrian lighting as well as landscaping were also added.”
Blake DeMaria, owner of Tony DeMaria’s BBQ, said the street needed a facelift, but the years of constant construction took a toll on local businesses.
“There was definitely a slowdown just in general, because [the street closure] was right around when all of the public shutdowns were happening and we had to do just curbside only,” DeMaria said. “It was definitely a hit that we took, but it was crazy the number of people during [COVID-19] in Waco, especially supporting small businesses and small restaurants. I was really surprised at the amount of people, and we had people even leaving our runners $10 and $20 tips and stuff. Luckily, we have really great customers. It was a struggle, but we were able to make it.”
Austin junior Allison Vanderslice visited the location after the opening of the street.
“I was really excited to try this place out, but I was nervous they’d be out of brisket by the time I got there. Thankfully, they weren’t,” Vanderslice said. “I was happy to support a local Waco business, which is something I’ve been trying to do this semester.”
Since the opening of the road, DeMaria said he has already noticed an increase in business.
“You don’t really think about what’s going to happen when it’s open. You don’t remember the difference,” DeMaria said. “But this week, we’ve been crazy busy. I put it together yesterday, and I guess the street opening really has brought that many more people in than I expected to happen.”
Danielle Young, owner of Revival Eastside Eatery, said there has not been a normal year of operation for her business.
“We had a huge sign out front saying that we were open during construction. We had maps ready so our staff would know street names around us to help people as they were getting turned around,” Young said. “Social media was a great friend of ours during construction because we could easily communicate when the roads had changed.”
Young recently opened another business on Elm Avenue called Street Dog Cafe. She said she is “excited to see what the next few months hold” for both of her businesses.
Elm Avenue is home to more businesses and restaurants that call Waco home, as well as other local attractions like Art on Elm Avenue — an art exhibition featuring local artists, musicians, food and craft vendors.
