(ABC 6 News) – New restaurants are fighting hard to keep customers in the door as the multibillion-dollar Mayo Clinic construction project continues in downtown Rochester.

One of the restaurants is Lumi, a new Turkish restaurant that opened November 1 on 1st Street SW. The owner said business has been good so far, even during construction, and they are finding ways to keep it that way as the project continues.

“It might deter people from coming if they’re not interested in trying to navigate it,” said Taleigha Coker, a waitress at Lumi.

Lumi owner Seckin Gungordu said the construction was something he kept in mind.

“So far we haven’t really seen any pros and cons. We heard it was going to start soon. But I hope it will affect us in a positive way,” Gungordu said.

Lumi is originally from Minneapolis, attracting customers from Rochester to the Twin Cities. Since there aren’t as many Turkish restaurants in Rochester, they hope their food alone will help retain customers.

“We did some research and Rochester fit our concept well and we are finally here,” Gungordu said.

Down the street, Mill Valley Kitchen opened 3 months ago. They said business has been a little slow, but they are trying to find new ways to retain customers.

“We have lots under construction located under the UMR housing, so we hope to develop them soon. Starting next Monday, I think we’re going to offer half off all wines, all day,” said Lucas Keppars, chef at Mill Valley Kitchen.

Both restaurants remain confident that they will still experience steady business.

“We also have fly-in access to get in, so I think that helps and being in a place where you can walk from Mayo or anywhere around downtown helps, I think, because people may not want to walk through construction,” Coker said. .

Currently, 4th Avenue Southwest is closed between First and Second streets. This closure is expected to last until February.