Dean Fenstermaker, owner of Milander’s Deli, has already seen a sharp decline in revenues at his Coplay business.

“We’ve seen a 30-percent decline in business since the (Coplay-Northampton) bridge closed,” he said, “and they aren’t even working hard to get it done.”

Fenstermaker at one time owned just the building at 301 Center St.

“When John Milander decided to close his business (Milander’s Market), I bought it. He would not sell the name, so we renamed it Milander’s Deli to keep some continuity.

“We made improvements and added local products and staples that our customers wanted,” Fenstermaker said.

The deli is a specialty meat shop that carries quality meat products.

“A lot of people are interested in getting quantities of food, so they go for the lowest price. We have quality products, and we price them less than supermarkets, but not as low as mass-produced stuff,” he said.

According to Fenstermaker, the clientele was starting to build.

“We were making progress - mainly with word-of-mouth advertising,” he said, adding he believed the products drew people from around the Lehigh Valley.

“Now with the bridge closed, we lose customers from outside Coplay,” he said.

With a fresh product line, Fenstermaker needs a certain volume of customers to keep his product fresh.

“To get our product, we need to buy a minimal volume. We need to keep customers coming in because we buy in quantity. We don’t want to freeze meats, but lately we had to,” he said.

Fenstermaker said he has appealed to Lehigh County Director of General Services Rick Molchany; state Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-18th; and state Rep. Dan McNeill, D-133rd.

“There is nothing available to help small business owners affected by the bridge closing,” he said after his conversations with officials.

Add to that extended construction on street improvements in Coplay and it is difficult to get around town.

Other business owners have a similar lament.

GiGi’s Pizza & Pasta Grill has seen a decline in business. The restaurant owners teamed up with Coplay Borough and ran a special advertising insert in The Press. According to Coplay Councilman Stephen Burker, the ads helped, but overall business is still down.

“[GiGi’s] liked the program, and it helped with Coplay residents,” he said.

Burker is working with Domino’s in Northampton to promote businesses in both communities.

“Egypt Star (Bakery) has a location in Coplay, a nice location for locals and people in Northampton,” he said. “They could (originally) go across the bridge and turn left,” he said.

The bakery still gets Coplay clientele, but Northampton customers now need to take the Hokendauqua-North Catasauqua Bridge.

Sam Owens Restaurant, at the end of the bridge, is touting its happy hour specials to attract customers. The Bacon Strip, on North Second Street, has also reported declines in business.

Tony’s Hobby Shop owners are emphasizing the store’s longtime commitment to the borough.

The biggest question business owners have - why is the construction scheduled to take three years?

“The state is taking advantage of us with all their red tape,” Fenstermaker said. “They are worried about themselves and not the impact they have on local businesses. I don’t know if we can survive if PennDOT has another lengthy delay.”