Three popular Birmingham city centre bars are just weeks from falling into administration after Paradise Circus roadworks caused losses of £400,000 in four months.
Dozens of workers have already been put on reduced hours by owner Town and Country Inns which claims Après, Mechu and Fleet Street Kitchen are all facing potential closure.
The three Summer Row venues have been hit with crippling cash losses since the roadworks began in the winter and Town and Country Inns' bosses warned administrators could soon be appointed.
Managing director Keith Williams said: "We have built and operated the units in Summer Row for over 12 years, having made major investment in the area and had done so very successfully.
"I have been in this business for 35 years in this city and we have always traded successfully.
"The business presently employs over 200 staff but the past 16 weeks since the roadworks started have been a living nightmare and as a company we are very close to going into administration because of the effects these works are having on our trade and cash-flow.
"It seems that Birmingham City Council are turning a semi-deaf ear to the effects the development is having on this business' livelihood and survival.
"All we have got from the city council is a 25 per cent reduction in rateable values, not rates payable.
"In 16 weeks, we are £400,000 down and that would equate to £1.2 million in lost turnover over a year. It is absolute chaos around here and it could get worse. As a business, we simply cannot sustain those losses.
"There is a real chance we will go into administration unless we can get some help from our landlords and be allowed to pay half rent or not pay rent at all for a while.
"There are 200 jobs at stake here - there is an administrator lined up and that could be just three weeks away, it all depends on how the landlords are prepared to accept the offers put to them."
A second phase of roadworks was launched this week as part of the £500 million 'Paradise' redevelopment, with motorists facing another six months of disruption due to new, temporary road measures.
Drivers have been warned to expect further delays until November and Birmingham City Council is urging people to use public transport to travel into the city to avoid congestion.
But Mr Williams said the new works would only exacerbate the problems.
He said: "Last summer, people were sitting outside but now it is not possible. People cannot park down here and taxis will not bring people down here.
"We have had to put 40 staff in total on reduced hours - Après has been the worst affected, it has lost its customer base. These works are going to wipe us out.
"It is going to be 18 months before it is all completed and once it is all done, we are not going to be here to see the benefit of it.
"Unless we get zero rates and do not have to pay any rent for a period of time, we may not survive. It's an absolute nightmare."
A spokesman for the Paradise development said earlier this year that a number of "comprehensive and well-publicised public consultations" had been held over the roadworks.
Council traffic manager Kevin Hicks admitted last month: "This is a place to avoid unless you need to access the immediate area, such as the Jewellery Quarter. The works programme has been developed to keep disruption to a minimum.
"But the scale of these activities means that impact on traffic flows, particularly at peak rush hour times, is inevitable."
