'There's just no one down here anymore': Sports4 moving from downtown, blames lack of foot traffic
It's the end of an era for one sporting goods store at Bank Street and Laurier Avenue.
"We faced the reality that things weren't going to get better and it's time to move," said Sports4 owner Jim MacFarlane. "There's just no one down here anymore."
For 41 years, it was a prime location but not anymore.
"Lunch hours, it used to be packed with people. It's now barren," said MacFarlane. "It's a tough environment to run a business in and we hoped for change but it hasn't gone that way for us."
Sports4 has already opened its new location in the Glebe. By the end of September, the shop at 151 Bank St. will be no more. There is no word yet on what will take its place.
"I am sad," said MacFarlane. "Forty-one years is a long time and it's going to be so weird to not come here."
This is becoming a larger problem: a hollowed out downtown not recovering quickly enough from the pandemic. The Bank Street BIA is trying to be optimistic.
"When the W.H.O. said the pandemic's over, it doesn't mean it's going to shift back to where it was before. It's not," said executive director Christine Leadman. "We have a changing downtown. For revitalization of the core, there needs to be investment in the core."
It comes on the heels of the federal government's plans to dispose of 10 buildings in the national capital region, including L'esplanade Laurier in downtown Ottawa.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Three dead, two hospitalized, following collision in Fredericton: police
Three people are dead following a collision in Fredericton Sunday morning.
Madonna's biggest-ever concert transforms Rio's Copacabana beach into a massive dance floor
Madonna put on a free concert on Copacabana beach Saturday night, turning Rio de Janeiro's vast stretch of sand into an enormous dance floor teeming with a multitude of her fans.
Montreal man on the hook for thousands of dollars after a feature on his Tesla caused an accident
A Montreal man is warning Tesla drivers about using the Smart Summon feature after his vehicle hit another in a parking lot.
Video shows gaggle of geese stopping traffic on Highway 1 near Vancouver
A mother goose and her goslings caused a bit of a traffic jam on a busty stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway near Vancouver Saturday.
William Shatner says he would consider 'Star Trek' return: 'Here comes Captain Kirk!'
The Montreal-born actor, famed for his portrayal of Captain Kirk in "Star Trek," says he is open to reprising the iconic role in the sci-fi franchise as long as the storytelling is stellar.
‘Love has no boundaries’: Sask. couple in their 90s and 80s get married
Eighty-two-year-old Susan Neufeldt and 90-year-old Ulrich Richter are no spring chickens, but their love blossomed over the weekend with their wedding at Pine View Manor just outside of Rosthern.
opinion You don't need to be an influencer to earn income from social media
How legitimate are claims by some content creators that the average person can earn passive income from social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram? Personal finance columnist Christopher Liew says it's quite possible, if you're willing to put in the initial time and effort.
One dead after potential wrong way crash on Highway 401 in Milton: OPP
One person is dead and another is in life-threatening condition after a driver was travelling in the wrong direction on Highway 401 in Milton Sunday, according to police.
'The Fall Guy' gives Hollywood a muted summer kickoff with a US$28.5M opening
"The Fall Guy," the Ryan Gosling-led, action-comedy ode to stunt performers, opened below expectations with US$28.5 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, providing a lukewarm start to a summer movie season that's very much to be determined for Hollywood.