How Roadwork On Memorial Highway Affects Mandan's Local Shops

It's been a stressful year for most of the businesses on Memorial Highway in Mandan.

Something we know firsthand, as we are also a business on the Strip, and having to deal with road closures, access to our building being shut down without any notice given, the long lines of traffic during drive times, and not to mention all the mud that always seems to work its way into our building and vehicles.

One area where we are different than most businesses on the Strip, we are not dependent on customers coming into our building to make a living. Most are, and because of the horrific construction, many of the businesses have noticed a significant dip in business over the last 10 months.

Communication has been poor with businesses on the Strip concerning construction.

Construction timelines haven't gone according to plan, and many businesses like ours have been thrown unexpected curveballs. To be honest, we've had to get very creative to even access our building at times during this mess. Again, in most cases, no communication whatsoever. And, did I mention having our water shut off, again, with no advanced warning? Yep, this is what most of us have been dealing with on Memorial Highway in Mandan.

It was only a matter of time before a business would have to close its doors because of the construction, and it appears that is the case now.

Rick Rider

Grand Junction in Mandan will close its doors for good on Friday, December 19th, at the end of the day.

I'm a fan of this sub shop, and a woman who works at the Cenex on the Strip, who knew I liked to have lunch there, told me I'd better go get my fix before they shut down for good tomorrow. Another business owner who has a shop close to Grand Junction confirmed to me that they are indeed closing. Grand Junction Subs is located at 4524 Memorial Highway in Mandan.

I reached out to the Manager on duty today at Grand Junction, and she also told me the news is true, and they have been alerting their longtime customers of the sad news. I asked her why they were closing, and I received the answer I was expecting. "The road construction had finally taken its toll, and they weren't making enough money". She also told me that some of their staff will be moving to the Bismarck Grand Junction location.

Grand Junction Subs was founded in 1999 in my hometown of Grand Forks, North Dakota, by Vu Truong. It's owned and operated in Bismarck-Mandan by Colton Shoults and Miles Barkus.

The Bismarck location is located at 4303 Ottawa Street. We wish all the employees at Grand Junction in Mandan all the best during this difficult time.