VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — At Bad Ass Coffee of Hawaii at 18th Street and Cypress Avenue, improvements are taking place all along the ViBe District as baristas add pumpkin spice and other seasonal favorites to popular brews.

A few blocks away, construction is underway on a $350 million Atlantic Park development to be anchored by a wave park.

The price of progress, however, has coffee-loving customers piping hot.

Thea Alfes, who lives in Connecticut, visits the Oceanfront often and says it is difficult to make her way into the coffee shop.

“My husband works down here, and every time we come here, we come to Bad Ass coffee,” Alfes said. “And since July, it’s been crazy trying to get through this construction.”

Bad Ass business partner Mimi Elliott loves Pharrell Williams, a partner in the neighboring multi-million dollar development. Elliott says Pharrell’s mother stopped in once for coffee.

“I’m really excited about the progress that Virginia Beach is making to be a tourist attraction and I really am excited about the surf park,” Elliott said. “So that’s really something to look forward to once it’s been built.

“But there’s been a lot of construction and it’s been really hard to deal with. I’m all about the progress, but I really am more of a planner, so I feel like it could we could have done a little bit better to not let the businesses around here suffer, particularly us, because we’ve had a lot of our streets and our access kind of blocked.

A city spokesperson said some of the work has to do with infrastructure improvements, not the Atlantic Park project.

“The construction on 18th Street & Cypress Ave. is affiliated with CIP #100459 (ViBe District infrastructure improvements), not the Atlantic Park project,” said city communications specialist Bryan Clark in a statement. “An emergency sewer main repair, separate from both projects, is currently underway at 18th Street and Cypress Ave. after an issue was identified about two weeks ago. Any improvement project is all but guaranteed to have an impact on residents and businesses in the area, however, the City provides individuals and businesses with regular updates to keep them informed and communicates with them to address any concerns.”

The email also explained that repairs on the sewer line should be finished by the end of this week. Customers can still get to the coffee shop from 19th Street and the city has ensured the coffee shop that its parking lot is accessible and has worked with the business owner directly on this matter. Clark said work on the entire project (ViBe District) is estimated to be completed in late spring or early summer 2024.

Bad Ass coffee owners say the timing has been terrible. Elliott says profits were down 16% in July, typically their best month of the year.

“Fourth of July week, not only was 18th (Street) blocked for the water park construction, but they decided to go ahead and work on the Vibe Beautification project,” Elliott said, “which we had hoped would be in the fall.”