A local restaurant is finding it very difficult to do business. It’s not the recession keeping the River City Tavern and Grill down – instead it is months of construction resulting from a change in ownership at the Comfort Inn on Pike Street.
 

The newly renovated Comfort Inn is scheduled for a grand re-opening on November 20. In the meantime, River City Taven & Grill owner Steve Peters says it’s been difficult to get the public to realize that his restaurant is still open.
 

A new owner took over the local hotel in May. Since that time Peters says his restaurant and patrons have suffered as a result of ongoing improvements to the building.
Peters says he is frustrated by the experience. He is concerned that the new management is not using local labor in order to complete the remodel in the cheapest manner possible. In addition, he is concerned that the improvements haven’t been confined to the hotel.
 

“It’s now beyond hotel improvements to the restaurant without our consent and the work is being done during business hours,” Peters said.
 

He says boarded up windows, a hole in the wall, and the obvious signs of construction have given people the impression that the restaurant is not open for business. When they do come through the door, Peters claims patrons are heckled and harassed by the workers.
 

“Nobody wants to eat in those type of conditions,” Peters said. “We want to operate our business without interference. We were doing fine and the new owner has made it difficult for us to operate here.”
 

Peters estimates that traffic has been reduced by 50 to 55 percent.
 

“We struggled enough with the economy being down,” Peters said. “This has devastated our business.”
 

Peters has approached city officials for assistance, but so far they are at a loss as to how to help.
 

First Ward Councilman David White says he has the story of one man - Peters - who has a number of complaints, including concerns over undocumented workers. The city’s income tax department has been notified of the situation, but the enforcement process is slow. White’s attempts to contact the new owner have been unsuccessful.
 

White provided Peters with information on how to contact federal agencies about the workers. Beyond that, he says there isn’t much City Council can do to resolve.
 

“This dispute sounds to me like something they will have to take care of in court,” White said.
 

Peters and White both say it appears that the motivation of the new management is to force River City out so the restaurant can be run in-house.
 

Despite several attempts, the general manager for the Comfort Inn, Mahesh Nichani, has not responded to requests for an interview. Other members of the hotel staff have been unable to answer questions.
 

“This is not what we signed up for when we signed the lease here,” Peters said.
 

Peters said he would like for things to go back to the way they were, but he believes the relationship may have been damaged beyond repair. He’s examining his legal options for remedying the situation.