Downtown businesses making most of reopening weekend following 'Freedom Convoy'
For 26 months, Little Victories Coffee Roasters has been stationed on the corner of Elgin Street and Sparks Street.
They’ve been open for four of them.
"It just felt like another blow to what’s already been like a pretty tumultuous two years for us in this location," Co-Owner Andrew Bassett describes the past three weeks of extended closures, their doors sealed shut after an incident involving staff and a member of the "Freedom Convoy" on the Friday it first arrived, now one month ago.
"To be, really ground zero for all this, that was interesting," he added.
Finally, Saturday, Bassett watched through the large windows of his coffee shop as the fences that sealed off Elgin Street and much of the downtown core were removed, and with them, one of the barriers to accessing his business.
"We’re still unsure if people are going to return to this area, we’re still unsure if people are going to be comfortable coming downtown. We just kind of take it day by day just playing it slowly and steady," Bassett said.
In the ByWard Market, where barriers have been cleared since last weekend, there’s hope that one of the city’s most iconic districts might finally be returning to normal.
"For the first time, it was a week since the 'Freedom Convoy' left, it’s been a nice feeling. Friday was really good, Saturday was good," Ihab Mouma, lead bartender at Nan’s Parlour said.
"We got a lot of people, we talked to a lot of people, asked them how they felt, they asked us how we’ve been through, it was really nice to reconnect with the other residents of Ottawa."
The cocktail bar, that opened in December 2021, stayed open for nearly the entirety of the "Freedom Convoy" but customers were hard to come by.
"Even during those three weeks, it was really difficult to operate. We didn’t really have any customers; Ottawa residents didn’t have any feeling of security in the downtown areas," Mouma said.
"Ottawa was at its slowest," he added.
Now, a week after the convoy departed, business owners say they are seeing a slow return to normal.
"We’re talking to our customers, it’s such a wonderful feeling. They’re so happy to be back, for us to be back, it’s just been great," Paola Paul, owner of Mantovani 1946, said.
According to local business experts, a return to normal in the downtown is crucial for the city’s economy.
"The downtown is critically important to our culture, to our tourism industry, to our business and our economy, so we want to rebuild business, consumer and employee confidence as quickly and as strongly as possible," Sueling Ching, President and CEO of the Ottawa Board of Trade said.
The City of Ottawa passed multiple supports and initiatives to bring people to the downtown core at council last week, and the Federal government has also pledged support for downtown businesses.
Owners say it helps, but it is the return of their customers and regulars that will drive the restoration of the downtown core.
"It’s pretty much just a fraction of what it takes to be operational, but we’re confident. We’re confident that we’re going into our busy season now. The weather’s going to get nice, downtown is going to get back to normal and we’re really looking forward to it," Paul said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
'It could be catastrophic': Woman says natural supplement contained hidden painkiller drug
A Manitoba woman thought she found a miracle natural supplement, but said a hidden ingredient wreaked havoc on her health.
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
Vicious attack on a dog ends with charges for northern Ont. suspect
Police in Sault Ste. Marie charged a 22-year-old man with animal cruelty following an attack on a dog Thursday morning.
The Body Shop Canada explores sale as demand outpaces inventory: court filing
The Body Shop Canada is exploring a sale as it struggles to get its hands on enough inventory to keep up with "robust" sales after announcing it would file for creditor protection and close 33 stores.
Tropical fish stolen from Beachburg, Ont. restaurant found and returned
Ontario Provincial Police have landed a suspect following a fishy theft in Beachburg, Ont.
U.S. FAA launches investigation into unauthorized personnel in cockpit of Colorado Rockies flight to Toronto
The U.S.’s Federal Aviation Administration is investigating a video that appears to show unauthorized personnel in the cockpit of a charted Colorado Rockies flight to Toronto.