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espite its hip, fashionable, artsy atmosphere, a food court at the top floor of the Pasar Santa traditional market on Jl. Wolter Monginsidi in South Jakarta, has started to see a significant decline in visitors, even on weekends.

Cindy, a 17-year-old food vendor with her It'€™s a Wrap kiosk, said the number of visitors had started declining since April, two months after the construction of overpasses on Jl. Wolter Monginsidi and Jl. Kapten Tendean kicked off.

Her kiosk, which has been selling green kebabs (sliced lamb packed with vegetables) for the past seven months, has suffered a drastic decrease in demand.

'€œMy sales have now gradually decreased to only 20 kebabs per day on weekends from 300 in the first months of my operation,'€ she said.

Another vendor, Andri, 22, said that sales at his Miechino kiosk had decreased since February. '€œNow we sell only 50 cups of '€˜rubber'€™ noodles with mushrooms and chicken on weekends and 30 cups on weekdays,'€ Andri said, adding that he used to sell 300 cups on weekends and 100 cups on weekdays.

He said the food court had started to see a significant decrease in visitors since the city administration started the flyover projects, causing traffic jams every day.

'€œI'€™m 99 percent sure that the food court is deserted because the project has made it difficult for customers to get to the market,'€ said Andri, who resides in Mangga Besar, Central Jakarta.

Established in 1971, Pasar Santa has transformed into a hip market, where customers can find vinyl record stores, modern coffee shops or vintage and casual clothing shops, after young entrepreneurs started to open businesses on the quiet and empty top floor in August 2014.

The young entrepreneurs were attracted to open businesses at Pasar Santa because of the affordable rents for its kiosks, ranging from Rp 3 million (US$210) to Rp 3.5 million per year. But the Pasar Santa kiosk owners raised the rents to Rp 30 million in April.

As the number of visitors has decreased, the atmosphere at Pasar Santa'€™s topmost floor has become more deserted as some food sellers have decided to discontinue their contracts as a result of the soaring rents.

Cindy said that she, along with her six friends who together established businesses at the market, would be the next to go.

'€œWe have decided to discontinue selling food here and will look for another location. The high rents and the decreasing number of customers have made the business no longer profitable,'€ she said.

However, Pasar Santa Tenant Association chairman Dian Estey said that even though Pasar Santa, which currently houses 1,100 kiosks, was facing a business slowdown, many vendors would stay, understanding that all businesses had their ups and downs.

'€œMany people out there have yet to learn about us. So, we have to promote it more,'€ she said.

Dian added that she was trying to revive Pasar Santa by inviting top singers and by holding events at the food court'€™s hall to attract more visitors.

Adil, 25, the owner of DOG (Dutch of Gourmet) hot dog kiosk located 7 meters from It'€™s a Wrap, for example, said he would stay in spite of the decreasing demand and the rising rent. '€œI won'€™t stop that way. It'€™s business. Every business has the risk of losing, but as long as you do it with passion, you just don'€™t give up,'€ Adil said.

Miechino'€™s Andri said he would continue doing business at the market as he realized that business always had its ups and downs.

'€œIf I go, the market will be more deserted. Besides, I have bought the kiosk with cash, so I am not bothered by contracts or rent increases,'€ Andri said, adding that he had several loyal customers.

Yudi, 21, and his two younger brothers are among the loyal visitors coming to the market on a Sunday night. He said he went to the market regularly to enjoy coffee with his brothers, Raffi, 19, and Yogi, 17.

'€œThere are several varieties of coffee here and the prices are not too expensive. Besides, the market is not too far from our house,'€ said the resident of Jl. Wijaya in Kebayoran, South Jakarta. (foy)