Bridge reopened, some business owners still worried

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Elizabeth Fields

Story Created: Fri May 25, 2012 7:17 PM

Story Updated: Fri May 25, 2012 8:13 PM

AURORA, Ky. — By Friday afternoon, more cars were passing through Aurora thanks to the Eggner's Ferry Bridge reopening.

But Rita McKnight, the owner of Aurora Bar-B-Que, needs more than increased traffic for her store to survive. She needs people to stop in and buy a meal.

McKnight has owned the restaurant for 12 years now but she's afraid the past few months may have done enough damage to close her down. She said she's only been selling 25 percent of the food she was at this time last year.

She said this holiday weekend is going to either make or break them.

"If it wasn't going to open until Sunday, it would have helped us but it would have been too little, too late," she said.

Her daughter Jessica Dunn helps keep the place running but she's worried, too.

"We have food bills stacked up back there that we can't pay. We have employee wages we have to pay," she said. "Yeah, we have to have a big weekend."

While a few more people trickled in Friday afternoon who said they came across the bridge, McKnight is already preparing for what to do if the weekend doesn't go well. She has put a for sale sign out front.