Downtown looks up – Winnipeg Free Press

Amit Saini wants to get the burgers to the audience when they want and at the desired time.

“There are a lot of things we are learning,” said the new restaurateur.

He and his partners opened Boujee Restaurant & Bar in the former Earls Main Street location last April. It was one of six businesses to open in the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ parameters between April and June — marking a second straight quarter of net business gains for the area.

It’s a change from the pandemic and post-pandemic trend of net operating losses and stagnation. In early 2024 — January through March — for the first time, more businesses opened than closed in Downtown Winnipeg.

“I find this location quite fascinating,” Saini said of Boujee. “This is the perfect location.”

It’s a stone’s throw from The Forks and it brings back memories for a lot of people, he explained, including himself — he used to dine at the former Earls.

He said he had visited the new Earls Main location just down the street and felt a longing for the former location at 191 Main St.

After a short stint in a fish restaurant, Saini and enterprising friends jumped at the opportunity, and now have 50 staff and weekends booked with events.

It’s busy, but it could be busier, Saini admitted.

“We… need a little bit more development in our city center so people feel more comfortable coming.”–Amit Saini

“After 8 or 9 o’clock (at night) it gets so bad that you hardly see anyone walking outside,” he said. “We… need a little bit more development in our downtown area so people feel more comfortable coming.”

More pedestrian traffic, more businesses – Saini hopes this will happen.

It’s a work in progress, explains Kate Fenske, general manager of Downtown Winnipeg BIZ.

“I wouldn’t say we’re there yet,” she said of the net gain in downtown businesses — a net gain of one, as five establishments closed — this spring.

The business improvement zone published its second quarter results on Wednesday, recording a 23.5 percent increase in the number of visitors to the city centre compared to the same period in 2023.

Special events and sports continue to draw crowds to the city’s core. More than 10,000 people marched in the Pride parade in June, and the Winnipeg Sea Bears and Goldeyes drew about 49,000 and 65,000 fans, respectively, in the second quarter of the year. The Winnipeg Jets’ Whiteout celebrations drew tens of thousands.

About three-quarters of Winnipeg residents spent money on restaurants and entertainment in the city centre in the past year, according to a poll by BIZ’s Probe Research.

Fenske was optimistic about the area’s future. There are more visible security patrols downtown — a result of the county-funded 2024-25 Downtown Safety Action Plan. Safety concerns, both real and perceived, are a constant challenge to downtown’s growth, Fenske noted.

The vacancy rate for offices in the core is still high, at 18.6 percent, but Fenske has noticed that the properties are selling quickly, she says.

She pointed to the progress of the Sutton Place Hotel and the takeovers of the city centre by the Manitoba Métis Federation: “It’s encouraging to see that people are still investing in the city centre because they believe in it.”

There is still a need to address “immediate concerns” and coordinate a plan with all levels of government regarding the future of the city center, Fenske continued.

“I wouldn’t say we’re there yet.”–Kate Fenske, General Manager of Downtown Winnipeg BIZ

“We have to make sure we don’t give up,” she said. “It’s about making sure we’re all on the same page.”

All levels of government appear to agree: there is a “real opportunity” to lay the foundation and turn the core into a neighborhood, she added.

Carrington Real Estate took possession of 185 Donald St., a stalled housing project, in the second quarter of 2024.

“We wanted to be part of a revitalizing downtown and hopefully a bright future for Winnipeg’s downtown,” said Sam Goszer, the company’s CEO.

Goszer cited inflation during the pandemic, interest rates and different lending methods as reasons why the 14-story apartment complex ended up in a lawsuit with a previous developer.

The city wants to support housing developments through its government-funded Housing Accelerator Fund, specifically affordable housing and housing in Winnipeg’s core. Carrington Real Estate had not yet taken on a project downtown, and the languishing building seemed like a good fit, Goszer said.

More than 20 percent of the 161 luxury suites would be affordable units, should funding come through the housing accelerator fund, Goszer added. The Keg Steakhouse and Bar will be on the first floor.

Others who planted new roots in Downtown Winnipeg this past quarter had positive comments about the area.