"Our survival is definitely at risk. Ripping up the front (of the shop) here is going to kill us," Ms Stratford said.
The Pop Inn Dairy owner - who asked not to be named - is also struggling.
"I have been isolated for the past two and a half months, since the last week of July. It is hard for people to get to the dairy, with all the work on this side of the street," he said.
The new path and cycle lane on the western side of Queen St. Photo / Luke Kirkness
Billy was not directly affected until October 9, when AT coned off parks outside the cafe and "shooed away" customers, Stratford said.
"They hadn't talked to us at all about putting the cones out at all."
A meeting was then held with Stratford asking if the roadworks could be postponed until next year when business is slower.
"This is our high time. We have to make money now to save for the low time when everyone is away (on holiday)," she said.
AT came back a week later and said work in front of the cafe would start the following Monday.
AT spokesperson Joanna Glasswell said postponing works in one area would likely create issues in another.
"As such we were unable to facilitate the request by the business owners from Billy Cafe to postpone works."
HEB Construction spokesman Patrick Gibbs said it was unfortunate they could not accommodate the wishes of the cafe and other businesses.
The main concern for the construction team was safety, he said, and the problem with switching work to other areas - including going past two schools - was children could be curious and accidentally hurt themselves.
Work outside Billy began on October 16 when an excavator with a jackhammer attachment began breaking up the road.
Excavators work up the street in front of the Billy cafe, making it hard to see from the street. Photo / Luke Kirkness
The section of road outside the cafe needs to be removed to make way for a new speed-hump and crosswalk.
A temporary fence has been put in place to help prevent dust blowing from the worksite. Two rubbish bins and a mailbox are inside the fence.
Frustrations are evident. When the Herald visited, an annoyed dog walker approached construction workers, gestured at the fenced-off bin and yelled at them before throwing a bag of dog faeces into the work site.
With no car parks available and the cafe almost invisible behind the construction fence, Stratford confirmed to the Herald they would be seeking compensation from AT and fears the worst might happen for her business.
"I'm expecting further loss, if I say that I'm shutting down that means I have to lay-off my staff, piss off my suppliers and pay for a site that's just sitting here," she said.
"I went to the council to ask for information about the resource consent before we bought it (the cafe) as part of our due diligence. If I had known they were going to be doing this kind of work, I wouldn't have bought it."
