HUNTERSVILLE, N.C. — A road project in Huntersville is aiming to alleviate traffic congestion by creating another way through a heavily traveled part of town.

Road crews are working on a $23 million project that creates two roundabouts and improves a section of Main Street, which runs parallel to Old Statesville Road.

A piece of that project involves closing a stretch of Huntersville-Concord Road between Old Statesville Road and Main Street to replace sewer and water lines.

Tim Fadul recently opened The Neighborhood Café under the same roof as the former Café 100, a breakfast and lunch restaurant which Fadul says had a cult-like following for about 10 years before it closed in January 2022.

“We rehired the original kitchen staff,” Fadul said. “And it seems that same following came back and then some."

Fadul, a longtime customer himself, decided to join the restaurant industry and take over Café 100. 

“I reached out to the owner of the property who leased the former café,” Fadul said. “We had a few conversations, and it began to get its own legs, and we moved forward, and that was in the middle of June.”

Fadul reopened the café in late July, just as Huntersville-Concord Road began to be torn up in front of his business.

“It’s a little noisy and can be a little dusty,” Fadul said.

Crews are replacing sewer and water pipes along a block of downtown Huntersville, which closes off front access and parking space to Fadul’s business and others.

“The timing of something like this is never good,” Fadul said. “Everyone understands, myself included, that [improving infrastructure] needs to happen, but trying to open a new business at the same time is not necessarily the best for business.”

Fadul says customers can still get to the parking lot behind the café, and there are other parking options nearby.

“This isn’t any more of an obstacle for them than it is for me,” Fadul said. “I’m sure some people who say, ‘Yeah, I’ll go another time,' but when they do, they’ll come back again.”

The road closure isn't expected to be a pain for much longer. A spokesperson for the town of Huntersville anticipates the sewer and water pipe replacement project will wrap up by Aug. 25, “pending any weather delays.”

Meanwhile, Fadul says he’s happy with sales and meeting new faces despite the ongoing construction.

“It’s an obstacle you just have to overcome,” Fadul said. “You can’t let it be a deterrent, you just have to deal with it and move on.”

The entire Main Street Project is set to be completed by fall next year, according to the town spokesperson.