Golden Hill Cafe, a longtime diner at 25th and C streets, has been losing customers in recent weeks — and employees say the cause is not prices, service or food quality, but the disappearance of street parking as construction crews working across the street fill the spaces in front of the restaurant.

“All the construction workers across the street are parking in our street parking area, in front of our restaurant, all the way down the street, all the way up the other side of the street,” server Trudi Erickson told Times of San Diego. “My customers can’t find a place to park. They tell me they would have come in to have breakfast, but can’t find any place to park.” Erickson has worked at the community gathering spot for 36 years.

The project responsible is Alüm at 1101 25th St., a Cast Development mid-rise now nearing completion. Plans call for an eight-story, 113-home mixed-use complex with a ground-floor retail tenant, a restaurant and cocktail bar. The site is part of the rapid development reshaping neighborhoods across San Diego, where construction activity can boost the local economy while simultaneously straining business districts through blocked streets and lost parking.

Not all nearby businesses are affected the same way. The popular Krisp market and Panchita’s Bakery, which share the neighborhood, have been largely unaffected because their customers can use a private parking lot. The cafe’s reliance on street parking makes it more exposed to the construction crunch.

The dispute also surfaced a gap in parking enforcement. Staff at the cafe noticed that after construction began, parking enforcement officers appeared to stop chalking tires and writing tickets in timed zones in front of the restaurant. Times of San Diego asked the San Diego Police Department and the office of Councilmember Stephen Whitburn why enforcement had stopped; Whitburn’s office did not respond.

Ashley Nicholes, communication manager for Police Chief Scott Wahl, said there “was no direction given to not enforce parking restrictions in the area.” She suggested the change in posture could reflect turnover among enforcement staff: “SDPD has hired several new parking enforcement officers, so it could be a natural transition of employees that led to the change in enforcement posture in that area.”

The department said it has since spoken with the cafe’s manager and employees about keeping watch on the area and about using the city’s Get It Done app to report violations. Officers also contacted members of the construction crew to stress the importance of following parking regulations.

Project foreman Joe Garza said he had spoken with some area store owners in advance of the work but not with workers at the cafe. After walking the parking area with the newspaper and seeing one of five posted signs — “Two-Hour Parking 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.” — he changed course, texting all of his foremen to instruct employees to park no more than two hours at a time.

The episode illustrates a common friction point in growing urban districts: development meant to add housing and commercial activity can disrupt existing small businesses in the interim. For Golden Hill Cafe, relief may come from restored enforcement and crew cooperation, though the eight-story project will continue to dominate the block until completion.

City officials have not announced any broader policy changes in response. Businesses affected by construction parking can report violations through Get It Done, and the police department says it will keep an eye on the area.