WINFIELD, W.Va. -- Construction work on the Winfield Bridge, along with the opening of the new U.S. 35 last year, is apparently taking a toll on restaurants on both sides of the river.

Officials and employees at Wendy's, Tudor's Biscuit World in Winfield, and Gino's Pizza in Eleanor say the lack of traffic caused by the closing of the bridge over the Kanawha River has affected their profits.

Putnam County Chamber of Commerce President Martin Chapman said Wendy's has been especially struggling, and may be in danger of closing its doors.

"It's just tough to get someone to drive four or five miles out of their way to get food," he said.

Winfield Wendy's store manager Bill Wade confirmed that sales were down because of thinning traffic caused by the bridge construction, but could not give an exact number or confirm whether the restaurant itself is in danger of shutting down.

The 50-year-old bridge closed in April so crews could resurface and widen the lanes, which were becoming a safety concern.  The closing has forced residents in Eleanor and Winfield to take a 20-minute detour to the upstream Buffalo Bridge to get across the Kanawha.

Tudor's Biscuit World, located across from the Wendy's at the intersection of old U.S. 35 and W.Va. 34 in Winfield experienced a drop in sales since the new U.S. 35 opened last year, said Oshel Craigo, franchise owner of Tudor's and Gino's Pizza.

The semi-truck traffic that previously clogged the old road was responsible for a portion of the Winfield Tudor's business, he said, adding that the first few months after the road opened, total sales decreased 19 percent. Since then, sales have leveled out at a 10-percent decrease, and have not returned to previous levels, he said.

The Eleanor Gino's Pizza has also seen a decrease in sales since the opening of the new road, Craigo said.

Greg Atkinson, vice president of operations for Tudor's and Gino's, said that despite the poor sales at the moment, the restaurants are not in danger of closing.

"We certainly are aware of the fact that we could have seen sales off to a greater degree," Atkinson said, adding that the two restaurants still have a lot of support from residents in Eleanor and Winfield.

Sales are expected to return to original levels when the bridge reopens in August, Atkinson said.

Convenience stores like Fruth Pharmacy are not following the same trend as the Winfield restaurants.

Eleanor Fruth Pharmacy store manager Shawn Houldren said that since the bridge closed, business has been up.

"For the past two months, we've actually had the highest sales increase of any of the stores in the chain," he said.

Houldren said Eleanor customers, loyal to the older, more established Fruth in Winfield, have been using the now more convenient Eleanor Fruth. The customer switching has affected sales at the Winfield Fruth, but not enough to put it in danger of closing.

Houldren also said that Teays Valley residents that usually shop at the Winfield Fruth probably have been finding the Eleanor store more convenient.

Chamber president Chapman said that he especially expected restaurants to be affected by the bridge closing. Chamber members held public meetings with the state Division of Highways to request that one lane of the bridge stay open during the bridge repairs. The division denied the request because construction would have taken much longer, he said.

The Winfield McDonald's is set to close in the middle of July for renovations. A McDonald's spokesperson could not be reached to comment on whether poor sales had an effect on the decision to renovate.

Despite the inconvenience the bridge has caused to area businesses, Craigo is glad that the construction work is being done.

"It's the right thing to do," he said. "This, too, will come to pass." 

Reach Zac Taylor at Zachary.Tay...@wvgazette.com or 304-348-5189.