Construction threatens beloved Grinders shop

Photo courtesy of Grinders

Mitch Gilbert has said it so many times over the past two months: Were open for business during construction!

Now, the energetic owner of Grinders Hot Sands is at his wits end, with business plummeting during a massive improvement project to Aurora Avenue North.

Ive been doing everything I can to put a positive spin on it, he said, but thats not enough.

I dont know how were going to survive this.

The well-loved Grinders shop in Shoreline is one of the best road food stops on the West Coast, with hot sandwiches so stuffed you can almost hear them groan. My favorite is the 1.5-pound Sauball Grinder, preferably consumed during one of Gilberts regular hot jams music shows.

The project imperiling the shop is a worthy one too, the latest segment of the miles of improvements planned for the Aurora Corridor.

The Grinders lot, never spacious, has lost its exit onto a side street, making the lot even tougher to navigate. Its also at least temporarily lost some parking spaces. Gilbert said hes been battling construction crews not to park in the ones that remain. Worst of all is the utility trench being dug in the street in front of the shop, and the accompanying equipment and blizzard of signs, arrows, cones and barrels that discourage diners from stopping in.

Driving by, its easy to understand Gilberts consternation. I couldnt figure out, driving south on the busy highway last week, how to pull into the lot and be sure I could navigate my way out again. I decided Id park further down the road and walk back, but no pedestrian access was allowed.

Since then, luckily, the city has responded to Gilberts plea to add better signage to the construction barrels on the street, and may temporarily re-open his side exit.

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Construction threatens beloved Grinders shop