Mayor Mike Johnston serves up food at local restaurant in support of businesses in construction zone

Mayor Mike Johnston visited a restaurant on E. Colfax Avenue Wednesday to show support for businesses impacted by construction there.

In an effort to bring more awareness to the area, the mayor visited the "Bourbon Grill" located on the corner of Colfax Avenue and Pearl Street, where he put on a uniform and helped out with the lunch rush.

"The mistake people can make is you drive through Colfax and you see it's under construction and you don't stop. And that has a real impact on businesses here," said Johnston.

The project will create dedicated bus lanes from downtown Denver to west Aurora, but business owners have been concerned that the construction project will hurt their bottom lines. In February, Sudhir Kudva told CBS Colorado that business at Squire Lounge was down around 40%. The problem, he said, began as soon as construction began blocking parking spaces along Colfax Avenue.

The city partnered with Mile High United Way and the Colfax Business Improvement District earlier this year to offer small business grants of up to $15,000 to help mitigate the impact on local businesses.

Johnston said he'll be visiting more businesses along Colfax Avenue to help them out during construction.