ByWard Market 'open for business' despite weekend biker convoy protest

Businesses in Ottawa's downtown core are watching the "Rolling Thunder" protest and the response to it closely. 

"I'm confident it'll be business as usual from what I'm reading so far the city and the police seem to have things under control and I'm hoping it'll be a friendly, well-organized and well-controlled event," said David Mangano, the co-owner of The Grand Pizzeria in the ByWard Market. 

Despite the "Rolling Thunder" protest arriving Friday, many businesses like La Bottega are encouraging people to come down and support local businesses. 

"It's business as usual in the market. The market's not going to be closed," said La Bottega owner Pat Nicastro. 

"We've talked to the BIA and we've talked to police and everything should be normal in the market. It's going to be a beautiful weekend down here and we're open, this is nothing like what happened in the last convoy."

Avoiding what happened with the last convoy when trucks took over downtown for weeks in late January and February is key for many businesses hit hard by convoy-related closures. 

"I will be the first person to go out and lay my body in the middle of the street if anybody tries to park or camp or whatever they want to do by my business," said Robin Seguin who owns Victoria Barber Shop on O'Connor Street. "And this is not a joke I believe I have almost like a PTSD from the last one and I am not going to put up with this."

"I'm going to be optimistic and trust that the force is going to do what they need to do to keep things organized," said Grounded Kitchen and Cafe owner Amir Rahim. "Let 'em come through, let's see what happens."

Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said Wednesday those who plan on coming down to support local businesses should take public transit.