It's not all bad for downtown Victoria, as many local businesses continue to grow.
"Despite the persistent public narrative around safety in downtown Victoria, a wave of local businesses are choosing to grow, relocate, and commit to the city’s core – signalling continued confidence in the future of downtown," writes the Downtown Victoria Business Association (DVBA) in a press release, who has taken the time to highlight several Victoria businesses and entrepreneurs who've made moves to underscore their commitment to the downtown.
Through the spring, they acknowledged the work of Cenote owner Seth Asch, who opened Volta, a breakfast and brunch spot now operating above the long-standing cocktail bar. Meanwhile, Puzzle Lab, creators of locally made wooden puzzles, moved their flagship store into a larger space on Government Street.
In June, cosmetology businesses made big moves as well, as The Natural Hair Salon launched Summit Salon Academy Victoria, a downtown training space for developing stylists.
A number of businesses have moved into bigger and more visible spaces. Grove Outdoors moved into a larger storefront on Johnson Street. Curated House & Home left their small space in Market Square for a larger storefront on lower Johnson Street. Autonomous Furniture, a contemporary design company, moved into the Powerhouse building, and Print Hole moved from their co-working space into their own studio and gallery at 712 Cormorant St.
Others are planning out new ventures soon to come – Serena's Pizza and Hoagies ownership will be opening a second restaurant called Coop's Chicken and Smash Burgers at 609 Yates St.
Serena's owners, husband and wife Ashley and Scott Burley, believe the downtown core remains the best place to start a business in Victoria.
"I think Fort Street is one of the top streets in Victoria," said Scott.
"I wanted to make sure that if we failed, it was gonna be because I did a bad job, not because of the location."
Location does matter, but they know that ultimately you need good food and good service, especially when many of your neighbours are fellow restaurateurs.
"You just have to work hard to keep people around," he added.
Through the first two years, Serena's has done well and they're happy to be downtown. They do have plans to bring a new Serena's location to Colwood's Lagoon Food Market as well, so he knows the rents are pricey there as well. But, despite the downtown rent, there is an upside.
"The rent [downtown] is maybe a little bit higher than, say the Colwood area; however, their rents are coming up too. You know nobody's giving away anything for free. I feel the upside for the amount of people and the walking traffic [downtown] is great."
This year, a number of businesses have grown from being small pop-ups to full brick and mortar businesses, including Routine Coffee, Fizz Bottle Shop, Key Vintage and Murder Burger.
“We know the headlines don’t reflect the full picture,” said DVBA CEO Jeff Bray. “But these examples highlight the real momentum we’re seeing downtown. They reflect the passion, creativity, and long-term commitment business owners are making despite the challenges.”
