I felt sick when I climbed the stairs up to my favourite bar of all time the other day, and not only because it was a weekday morning and the place was still hours away from opening.

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It was because of what we were there to see - the view out of the spectacular curved picture window that is one of Bar Rochford's finest details.

Of an evening, Bar Rochford has muted lighting, cool and understated music (vinyl on a turntable, selected from the collection that lines shelves around the venue) and a constant hum. Even midweek the place is usually packed.

And in the morning light with no one around, the venue's careful decor and cultivated coolness was easier to see and appreciate.

But, thanks to the dusty chaos on the street below, the vibes are harder to come by. Three lots of construction taking place simultaneously in the bar's immediate vicinity has been an evening mood-killer for most of the city centre.

Bar Rochford's co-owner and manager Nick Smith isn't alone in his frustration; the bar has been there for a decade, but several businesses around him, including Lemongrass Thai and Charcoal Grill have been there much longer. All are feeling the pressure of massively reduced trading, and a complete lack of regard from the ACT government.

Nick Smith knows the construction works won't last forever. We all know that, but it's the day-to-day grind, the feeling that it just can't go on.

Every time I see construction works - which is every day, all the time - I hark back to a conversation I had last year with the owner of Landspeed Records, over in another part of Civic.

Blake Budak has run the record store for........

© Canberra Times