Downtown Regina struggling after traffic declines almost eightfold due to pandemic measures

Regina's downtown and warehouse district needs immediate help, according to a request to Regina's executive committee.

The Regina Downtown Business Improvement District, Regina Warehouse Business Improvement District and Regina Hotels Association are asking for financial aid to help offset the financial impacts of COVID-19. 

Judith Veresuk is the executive director of the RDBID and addressed the executive committee on March 16. She said many places are at risk, including restaurants with barely any tables left and especially coffee shops that used to rely on office workers. 

"[Cafés] are on the verge of going under," Veresuk told the committee. 

Güd Eats in downtown Regina closed at the end of February and one of the co-owners at The Cure Kitchen and Bar says without the financial help from different levels of government, they may have been forced to do the same. 

"We're very grateful that those existed and still do," co-owner Morgan Choquer said. "We are stable enough that we're going to remain open and we do have a lot of hope for the remainder of the year." 

The Cure used to have 70 people in on peak nights, 100 if they were hosting an event. However with capacity limits and protocols they typically have between 10 to 15 coming through their doors and can only have a maximum of 24 patrons.

Choquer said the financial help would go a long way for many Downtown businesses. She said while they've been fortunate to have returning customers many relied on office workers who now work from home. 

"We've started to find some stability in the new year here and I think there's still some that haven't quite got their feet on the ground after all of this," Choquer said. "That little extra push would probably be helpful to a lot of businesses."

Veresuk said the request for financial help is focusing on ground floor retail because the shops need the most help. 

"Ground floor retail is what contributes to the vibrancy of the downtown," she said. 

The city previously approved the Regina Economic Recovery Grant program that helped businesses that were struggling during the pandemic. 

However, the Regina Downtown Business Improvement District, Regina Warehouse Business Improvement District and Regina Hotels Association are requesting further support for their specific businesses. 

Instead of deciding on that specific request, city administration is recommending the request be sent to the newly created recovery and efficiency task force. The task force was created on Feb. 24 to create a "made in Regina" recovery plan. City administration said this would give the request a broader view as many businesses are struggling. 

Number of downtown visitors 'dropping by the day'

Coun. Lori Bresciani asked Veresuk how the downtown differs from other areas of the city where businesses are also financially stressed.

Veresuk said other areas have residents in their neighbourhoods that are supporting their local shops, whereas the downtown does not. 

"We have about 1,000 folks that live in downtown," Veresuk said. "Even though we have those 1,000 residents, we used to have 30,000 to 35,000 people coming downtown and now that's down to about 4,500 people … that number is dropping by the day." 

Veresuk said she doesn't blame people for staying home or close to home if that's where they feel safe but the businesses are put in a tough spot. 

"There is not a closure mandate for our businesses; they cannot access additional federal funding out there because of that and they're just hanging on," Veresuk said. "That's the challenge that we're dealing with." 

At the end of the day, this is a very delicate balance of who gets funded and who doesn't.- Chris Holden, city manager

Bresciani said the executive committee and council should be careful with requests like this. 

"There are businesses that are outside of the downtown, outside of the warehouse that are also … hanging on by a string. So how do I respond to those companies that [may] probably go under, how do I go back to them if this goes forward when we already have another grant in place?"

City manager Chris Holden said this is why the task force would be engaged, as it would give it a broader look because "at the end of the day this is a very delicate balance of who gets funded and who doesn't." 

The committee unanimously referred the request to the task force.

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