TEMPE, AZ — Daily Jam has been a Mill Avenue fixture for years. This summer, it's fighting to stay that way.
General Manager Jesse Salazar says sales are down 70 percent — a number he ties to ongoing construction, along with summer heat and fewer students in town, that has kept customers away from one of the Valley's most iconic strips.
“[Businesses] ran by great people suffered and closed their businesses,” Salazar said. “Lost their dreams because of construction."
The numbers tell a broader story. The Downtown Tempe Authority reports a 12 percent vacancy rate along the corridor, with a summer rewards program designed to drive foot traffic off to a slow start.
Salazar wants to see help from the city and leaders in the local economy.
When construction projects drag on for months on end, people tend to avoid the area, Salazar said.
"So how are we going to message to people that Mill is open for business?” Salazar said. “And when Mill is open for business, what does that look like?”
The Downtown Tempe Authority is already working with the city, the Chamber of Commerce and a PR firm on marketing campaigns designed to attract customers, authority President & CEO Lori Foster said.
"Most of these businesses, over 65% are local, so they need that support," Foster said. "I think we have about 8 or 9 businesses that will open in August, September. So that momentum is starting to turn.”
Construction wraps July 8. For Salazar, that's when the real work begins.
"It's been absolutely devastating to a lot of people, and we want to get back to where Mill was,” Salazar said. “The heartbeat of Tempe."
