Piece by piece over the last half century, Tammy Colston has built her business at the Raleigh Market.

“We were in a blue school bus when we started here,” Colston said. “We moved to a semitruck and then moved to the other building, over off of Restaurant Row.”

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Her shop, Kidd’s Frames, has been inside the Education and Commercial Buildings ever since Restaurant Row was torn down. Now she’s facing a new disruption.

“Financially, it’s going to hit us pretty hard,” she said.

Like roughly 70 other businesses, Colston will have to leave her Raleigh location until spring, as the Raleigh Market plans to close its doors for the State Fair, then keep them closed for the next seven months for much-needed roof repairs.

“It really is like whack-a-mole,” said Raleigh Market’s Kimberly Benou. “They’ll fix one [leak] and another will pop up later.”

Benou says she knows this is a pain for businesses, but one she believes will be worth it to fix the leaks.

“We are remaining optimistic,” she said.

Several business owners, including Dan Savage of jerky store TUKLIFE, acknowledged the need for a new roof, and said they were given several months’ notice.

“This 110-year-old building is definitely in need of a new roof,” said Savage. “We’re going to do some online sales [and] try to build our business, come up with some different ideas.”

Other vendors, like Brian Korynta, argue the shops should have been provided with an alternative space to operate from during the closure.

“I hate to think of what’s going to happen to some people,” Korynta said.

Back at Kidd’s Frames, Tammy Colston plans to dip into her savings to make it through, and will be waiting anxiously for the green light to open again.

“We are praying a solution will be made to help us stay here,” Colston said.