Cherry Hill, Evesham/Marlton, Medford, Medford Lakes, Moorestown, Mount Laurel, Voorhees and elsewhere near the iconic state highways of Routes 70 and 73.
Businesses come and go all the time, but when a 30-year-old Cherry Hill fixture like the Oreck vacuum store on Route 70 disappears it is noteworthy.
Kris Noyes, and before him his father Glen, have sold and repaired the high-end vacuums and other brands for countless homeowners in Cherry Hill and South Jersey.
That store is scheduled to shut down a week from Saturday, shifting business to its Turnersville outlet.
What disaster befell this small business?
Look no farther than across the parking lot, at the rebuilding of Route 70, says Noyes.
"The construction is worse than COVID," Noyes told 70and73.com in a recent interview.
Businesses along the eastbound and westbound lanes of Route 70 have complained about the impact on their customer volumes. Roadblocks set up along the road as lanes are rebuilt need to be navigated by the driver who wants to spot the entrance to a business.Â
"Almost instantly, people complained they couldn't get to the store," Noyes said of his customers. Some called him and said they were stuck for a half hour three or four traffic lights away trying to get to the Oreck outlet.
Noyes said he reached out to local officials and was told he was the only one complaining. That frustrated him.
Even when his firm had three Oreck stores (the one in Mays Landing closed in 2018), the Cherry Hill store was "by far" the greatest earner, Noyes explained. About half of his business is sales and half is service, but at one point it was 75% sales, he said.
The Oreck store stayed open during the pandemic and when businesses in general reopened Noyes saw his revenue coming back. Then they started the Route 70 construction project.
"I'm still struggling with (the closing) today," he said. "I'm still hoping something changes my mind tomorrow."
The Oreck store in the plaza on the westbound lane of Route 70, across the road from the Barclay Farm shopping center.
Businesses were supported with state aid during the pandemic, but Noyes said he knows of no similar aid during an upheaval like the construction of a major roadway.Â
Noyes said he dipped into his firm's reserves to pay the bills as business plunged at the Cherry Hill store. That has left him with no money to build out another store elsewhere in town.
He said he hopes the former Cherry Hill customers will go to his Turnersville store to shop or drop off their vacuums in need of repair.
