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
'I just can't believe that it took so long': Body found in wreckage 3 months after deadly fire
A man accused of arson in a January Old Strathcona apartment fire is expected to be charged with manslaughter after a body was discovered in the burned building late last month.
No proof man lied to brother about number of kittens born in litter, B.C. tribunal rules
A man was denied a $5,000 payout from his brother after a B.C. tribunal dismissed his claim disputing how many kittens were born in a litter.
Work stoppage possible as WestJet issues lockout notice to maintenance engineers' union
A lockout notice issued by WestJet to a union representing aircraft maintenance engineers could result in a work stoppage next week.
Quebec police hand out hundreds of tickets to Hells Angels and other bikers before 'first run' meeting
Quebec provincial police handed out hundreds of fines to Hells Angels members and other supporting motorcycle clubs who met for their 'first run' in a small town near Sherbrooke, Que.
Auston Matthews skates ahead of Game 7, status unclear with season on the line
Auston Matthews was back on the ice with his teammates Saturday.
Russia puts Ukrainian President Zelenskyy on its wanted list
Russia has put Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on its wanted list, Russian state media reported Saturday, citing the interior ministry’s database.
Snakes almost on a plane: U.S. TSA discovers a bag with small snakes in passenger's pants
According to an X post by the Transportation Security Administration, officers at the Miami International Airport found the small bag of snakes hidden in a passenger's trousers on April 26 at a checkpoint.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Feds hope to table foreign interference legislation next week: LeBlanc
Democratic Institutions Minister Dominic LeBlanc says he plans to table legislation this week to help the federal government address foreign interference, but he wouldn't say whether the proposal will include a foreign agent registry.