TULSA, Okla. — The city's Route 66 Commission is especially encouraging of tourism along 11th Street ahead of the route's centennial next year, but the street is also busy with street maintenance.
"We need to move into a little bit of the next century. And though we do wish it wasn't going on, we do support it," The Campbell Hotel general manager John-Michael Benardello said. "And a bunch of the construction guys that have been coming in and out have been polite. They've been very informative before things happen, letting us know what we need to do."
WATCH: Route 66 construction puts Tulsa business at standstill, owner says
The Campbell Hotel's experience since February is the envy of another business at 11th and Columbia.
Owner Chris Greever relocated the Tulsa Art Market to the intersection last December, though he told 2 News it was without knowing about impending road work.
The art market's slogan is "Everyone deserves to take home a piece of Tulsa history," but Greever said Becco Contractors, Inc. trucks have instead taken pieces of his business and his car.
"When they come by with certain vehicles, dump trucks, and then their little tractors, they throw rocks up to the sidewalk and some of them hit the building (and my car on the side spots)," Greever said. "They didn't want to replace that. We had to replace that."
2 News reached out to Becco about the claims on July 10 and again on July 14, but hasn't heard back as of June 15.
The lack of visibility to his business due to construction, Greever said, has cost at least 100 potential customers.
"And a hundred people, even if I get ten percent sale on that, you know, that's going to be tens of thousands of dollars," the business owner said.
City of Tulsa admitted via email the construction is more extensive at that portion of 11th Street, but said it does place business access signs on the road to encourage customers.
However, when 2 News visited Tulsa Art Market, there were no business access signs.
Benardelli said The Campbell Hotel finds other ways for business like opening the back entrance and encouraging online bookings, but Greever said that's not possible at his art gallery.
"This business has been in my family - I've worked on this business since I was five years old," Greever said. "I love the art. I love the artists. And I want to be able to continue to work with them and the customers that buy the art."
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