CITY HEIGHTS (KGTV) — A City Heights grocery store is suing the city of San Diego and SDG&E for $2 million, saying years of construction on University Avenue cost the business millions in lost customers and revenue.
ABC 10News has been following this story since October 2023, when we first reported about the construction's toll on businesses. Since then, we have spoken to four owners on University Avenue — all reporting significant losses in customers and revenue.
The owner of Supermercado Murphy's, Ron Kassab, says the construction that began in 2023 devastated his store. At its worst, workers reduced his entrance to roughly 3 feet of access while completing sidewalk work.
"We took a huge hit with the construction. They literally closed us down when they were doing the sidewalks. They literally gave me about a 3-foot opening," Kassab said.
The lawsuit claims SDG&E is partly responsible for construction delays after the utility failed to identify one of its own electrical boxes. The project was originally scheduled to finish in 2024, but did not fully wrap up until earlier this year.
Kassab has owned the store for 22 years and employs about 50 people. He says he has been pulling money from his other businesses to keep Supermercado Murphy's open.
The new roundabouts installed as part of the project have added another financial burden. Kassab says they make it harder for delivery trucks to access the store, forcing him to use smaller trucks — which means more frequent deliveries and higher costs.
We reached out to both the city attorney's office and SDG&E about the lawsuit. Both declined to comment.
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