Convenience store struggling from Grosse Tete Bridge closure

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - The closure of the Grosse Tete Bridge is causing some major problems for a local convenience store.

Nash’s Express off LA 77 in Plaquemine is like a ghost town.

“I’m suffering,” said Owner Ahmed Cassim. “I would like to cry. There’s no business. Nobody. I’m just sitting down like this and sleeping.”

It’s too quiet for Cassim. He’s used to seeing 40 people packed into his store before noon. Now, he’s lucky to see three customers.

The draw bridge over Bayou Grosse Tete was shut down last week after a tugboat crashed into it. Since then, Cassim said he’s lost 80 percent of his customers who travel across the bridge.

“One day I could make $3,500, $4,000, $4,500, $5,000, now I make $800 or $900 and it’s for what? For electric? For nothing!” explained Cassim. “We got a lot of bills to pay and the workers they need to get paid, but nobody gets paid.”

It’s forced him to close his kitchen and turn away deliveries.

“No business. I don’t make nothing. No food, no boudin, nothing,” said Cassim. “If I cook, if I do something, I’m going to throw it away. I’m going to lose it and I don’t buy any beer, no soda, I just stopped everything. No money, so how can I buy anything? I’m looking for something to help me out. Anything. I need some help for this.”

Parish officials are working to get a pedestrian ferry up and running by the end of the week. The tentative operating hours for the pedestrian ferry will be from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 8 p.m., seven days a week. The hours may adjust over time, particularly when school starts back up in August.

It’s a temporary fix until they can repair the bridge, which could take up to six months. In the meantime, Cassim is relying on a few locals on his side of the bridge to keep him going.

“I’m feeling bad,” said Cassim. “I’m going to have to give up. I can’t handle it.”

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