In June, Little Luke’s Cafe in Upper Falls reopened after several months of closure due to a construction project nearby, related to the Northland development and accompanying Splash Pad.

But recently, owner Phil Emmanuel found a note on the cafe’s door from the city, informing him that there would be another construction crew in front of his business in a few days.

It turns out the intersection in front of the shop is covered with cement made to look like bricks. But due to improper mixing of the ingredients to make that fake brick facade, the cement came out too thin and is wearing away, leaving the surface eroded, choppy and outright hideous.

Emmanuel said no one from the city spoke with him. Someone just left the note on the door while he was inside working. And initially, the work was supposed to be done on Sept. 7, which would have meant a bunch of construction vehicles clogging up the area for Upper Falls Village Day.

That event, which attracts hundreds of people every year, is held just steps from Little Luke’s. That day is typically a big moneymaker for him, which would come in handy given that he was forced to close his shop for months.

Area Council President Julie Irish then reached out to the city, Emmanuel said, to urge them to reschedule the work for after Upper Falls Village Day. And the city rescheduled it to this week. But Emmanuel, who’s still trying to recoup his losses, remains frustrated at the timing.

He sells ice cream, and it’s still hot out.

“I called and left a voicemail, but no one called me back,” he said. “It’s just wrong.”

The cement designed to look like bricks at the intersection of Chestnut and Oak streets in Upper Falls. Photo by Bryan McGonigle

Emmanuel said he was told the city couldn’t wait until after September, as he wanted, because now is the only time the contractor can do it.

“I don’t care when the contractor can do it,” he continued. “He screwed it up. He’s supposed to do it under your [the city’s] terms. But now they’re going to come in during my busy season and tear it up?”

Emmanuel is asking the city to at least make sure his customers have access to his shop, both with sidewalk and with parking. He said city officials insisted there was access until he sent photos of the space to them. According to Emmanuel, someone told him that others are impacted as well and everyone has to make sacrifices.

A native of Newton Highlands, Emmanuel has worked in the restaurant business for most of his life and opened Grape Leaf on Lincoln Street in 2010.

How did Little Luke’s get its name? According to the business website, after their father passed when Phil was a young boy, he tagged along with his older brother, Luke, so much that he earned the nickname “Little Luke.”