Coffee's on at Aviano Coffee -- and so is the heat. Owner Doug Naiman, who opened his spot in the beleaguered Beauvallon back in 2006, never anticipated the building being obscured by scaffolding and swathed in plastic. "When this scaffolding goes up over my business, what's it going to look like to people walking by, driving by?" Naiman asked when the repair work first started this summer. "It's going to look like a place that's closed, or difficult to get to. My business is based on convenience. If I can't provide that, I'm done."

But he's not going down without a fight. His most recent weapon: the sign above, which he posted outside Aviano yesterday.

• Word of Mouth