With high-rise offices still empty, Exchange District businesses wait for the return of crowds

The lights are off and the chairs stacked at Obby Khan's restaurant in Winnipeg's Exchange District. But that doesn't deter a potential customer who sees Khan's silhouette through the windows of the closed eatery.

He approaches the door. Is the restaurantopen, the stranger asks?Hopefully soon, Khan answers, but not today.

Khan closesthe door behind him.

"I just lost a sale," he says, smiling in spite of his misfortune.

But these spontaneous visitsgive the former Blue Bomber-turned-restaurateursome hope the belief he can reopen ShawarmaKhan, his Middle Eastern restaurant, and that the Exchange District can thrive again.

Right now, the outlook is bleak. The COVID-19 pandemic emptied the downtownhigh-rise officesand scrappedthe summer festivals which brought most of the customers into his restaurant. The peoplelingering onsidewalks arefew and far between.

Even as Winnipeg's economy has started to reopen, the business crowd frequenting the downtown has largely stayed home.

'We just can't open'

"We solely live off foot traffic and businesses downtown, and if that's not there, then we just can't open," Khan said.

His Shawarma Khan location on PembinaHighway is busy, but Khan says his flagship eatery on McDermot Avenue cannot depend on his neighbours'walletsalone. He opened in the Exchange District in 2013 because the neighbourhood is business-heavy and event-driven.

"You take away those events, you take away the foot traffic,people are really going to have to think twice about coming downtown and going to the Exchange."

Foot trafficis 10 to 20 per cent of normal right now, he figures. It's improving as the weeks go by and the weather warms, but not enough, he says.

WATCH | Exchange District businesses wait for the return of customers:

Exchange District businesses wait for the return of crowds

4 years ago

Duration 2:38

Even as Winnipeg's economy has started to reopen, the business crowd frequenting the downtown has largely stayed home.

Since Shawarma Khan makes everything fresh in the morning, he needs enough people through the door every dayto make it worth putting 20 pounds of meat on a slowly turning vertical rotisserie at a time.

It might be mid-June, or realistically July, beforetraffic inches closer to normal, Khan thinks.

"I firmly believe we will get back there," he said. "I firmly believe that we will get through this as a city."

A short walk away, Nils Vik has a front-row seat to theresurgence of life in the Exchange District. He owns Parlour Coffee on Main Street.

"I would say inMarch and early April, it almost felt like [traffic was] 90 per cent down it literally was a ghost town. There was no cars on the street."

He started to offer curbside delivery, in part to see what traffic there is for himself.Now, he sees cars again, and the sidewalk is maybe a quarter as busy as it was pre-pandemic.

He plans to serve drinks again in June, but likely not immediately whenManitoba allows coffee shops and restaurants to offer dine-in options.

The government says that will be part of Phase 2 of its reopening plan. It releaseda draft plan for thatphaselast week, but hasn't set a start date for most of what's in the plan.

"You need to sell a lot of espressos to pay your rent, and that requires a lot of people," Vik said.

"The population of the Exchange surges during business hours with all the people who work in the neighborhood. There is a growing population of residents, of course, but it's not [enough of] a critical mass towarrant business as usual."

Optimistic for turnaround

Even as a return to normal seems far off, he's investing in his physical real estate, focusingonrenovations he otherwise wouldn't have time for.

He's getting his floor refinished, replacing the back service counter and removing seats from his intimate14-stool caf to meetphysical distancing requirements.

When he does reopen, he won't be allowed to seat more than two people in his 400-square-foot caf.

His coffee shop is also staying afloat because selling coffee beans and other accessories online has captured half his usual business.

But like Khan, he's confidentthe crowds will return and he applauds the federal aid programs for helping him get by.

"Seeing it so quiet down here definitely doesn't feel great, but I am optimistic that things will change."

At nearby Old Market Square, the lack of people is unmistakable. Even on an afternoon with temperaturessoaring above 25 C,only a few people are sitting on thepatch of grass. Before the pandemic, it would have been tough to find a seat here, saysDavid Pensato, executive director of the Exchange District Business Improvement Zone.

But there are signs of life, Pensatorecognizes a crowd gathered on properly spaced tables at the outdoor patio at the King's Head, a few sunbathers relaxing in the square,and people snacking on poutine.

"I think we'll see more of that as peopleare going to be exploring the city more, and the Exchange District is a great place to do that," he said.

The BIZ is in talks with the City of Winnipeg andbusiness leaders about establishing what moreoutdoor common spaces in the area to encourage summer visits.

Pensato hopes city officials are on board with the plan and keep offering one hour of free parking for drivers a measure introduced during the pandemic.

If all goes well, the Exchange will welcome a steady stream of visitors this summer, rather than the usual peaks and valleys.

It's like the neighbourhood is "flattening the visitor curve," as Pensato puts it.

"Instead of those spikes of thousands of people, maybe spread those people out over several weeks."