The downtown dining district in Guelph has been a boon for some businesses, while causing headaches for some others who want all downtown businesses to be treated the same.
When the COVID-19 pandemic first caused businesses to close their doors, Atmosphere Cafe on Carden Street immediately began a pivot to selling its bistro items as heat and serve mail kits, said owner Nicole Hogg.
”We were open the entire time, but I had to lay off all of our staff,” said Hogg. “That was between 15 to 17 people.”
Hogg said her business weathered the first part of the pandemic by the grace of its regular customers, who supported it by buying the meal kits. To remain viable, the business needed to be able to serve customers on a larger scale.
“Probably about a month ago I was thinking I’m done,” said Hogg. “I am not thinking of closing at this point, but it was super close and super aggravating.”
In May, Mayor Cam Guthrie announced the City of Guelph was exploring the option of allowing businesses to open patios in parking spaces, as had been done in some other municipalities like Barrie. At the time, Guthrie said the plan would be to allow businesses to lease parking spaces to offer patio space for dining or retail businesses.
While Hogg was waiting to expand her 10-seat patio, the city and Downtown Guelph Business Association opened the downtown dining district July 7 at the other end of Carden street, too far for her to take advantage of.
On July 3 a provincial order passed, allowing municipalities to come up with their own bylaws to allow patios in parking spaces.
Even though the City of Guelph passed its bylaw on July 15, Hogg wonders why it took until the August long weekend for her to get approval for the patio in front of her business.
In the meantime, Hogg began a petition seeking fairness in allowing the parking space patios for businesses that couldn't take advantage of the downtown dining district. She lost a month of prime summertime business between the time the patios were allowed by the province and when hers was eventually approved.
“(The city) just dropped the ball and mismanaged it. It’s like they saw the shiny object that was the dining district and all else lost focus,” she said.
Stacey Hare, communications specialist with the City of Guelph, said the regulations for parking space patios was finalized July 27 and barriers were placed on July 29 for patios on Carden and Macdonell streets.
Easternwell Chinese Medicine on Wyndham Street is steps from the downtown dining district patios. Business owner Joyce Wang said the city is showing favouritism to the food service industry because it won’t allow her patio space to offer her goods and services.
Wang said she was initially told she could apply for patio space, but at some point the decision was reversed.
“I put in all the paperwork and did all of the insurance and it gave me hope, and now they are saying no because it is only reserved for the dining industry,” she said. “I am not paying less taxes than the restaurants. How come we have to listen to City Hall’s decision?”
She said the downtown dining district only benefits a small number of businesses on the strip between Carden Street and Cork Street.
“Not a lot of people know what’s happening in Downtown Guelph, they think it’s a great area but come on, there are only like five bars,” said Wang.
Aside from not being able to offer her services outdoors, Wang is also concerned that her clients can no longer use the handicapped parking spot outside her door.
“We are an acupuncture clinic, our clients are older people and they call a cab to come in. Right now the road is closed so they don’t have access to come to our store and now I have to do very hard work to tell customers how to come here,” she said.
Marty Williams, president of the Downtown Guelph Business Association said he understands why businesses like Atmosphere Cafe were frustrated when the downtown dining district seemed to go up overnight, but that is because it was simple.
“That’s because the traffic safety regulations, COVID safety and accessibility are a lot easier to do when you close the road,” said Williams.
Barrie was able to get ahead of Guelph in permitting parking space patios because it had applied to the province years ago to allow it there, noted Williams.
“Guelph hadn’t gone through that process to allow on street parking spot patios with open roads,” said Williams.
Once Guelph did have the approval, said Williams, city staff needed time to assess the safest way to go about doing it.
Even once the city approved her patio space, Hogg was initially left to find her own tables to fill the space in between the large orange traffic barriers. She calls the patio space ‘the bouncy castle.’
Williams said the orange barriers at Atmosphere Cafe are more elaborate than he has seen in other places.
“I was just in Haliburton and they have a little white picket fence and a traffic cone in the parking spots they have taken over for patios and cars — you can basically reach out your car window and grab a beer off a guy at the picnic table,” said Williams. “In Guelph, we have barricades along Carden Street for Atmosphere that could stop a runaway dump truck. It’s over the top but the regulations here are a lot stricter, a lot more robust than they are in many other towns you see across Ontario.”
COVID safety, traffic safety and accessibility compliance are the three most important considerations the city had to take into account when considering parking space patios, said Williams.
“Those three things have to come first and then after that what is possible to expand these businesses and allow them to make some money. Make some hay while the sun shines, quite literally, because we have no idea what the fall is going to be like,” said Williams.
As for the parking issues in front of Easternwell Chinese Medicine, Williams said finding a parking space has never been easier in Downtown Guelph now that most office space is closed due to the pandemic.
“I think the likelihood you could find a parking spot right in front of Eastern Wellness (before the pandemic) was like a needle in a haystack,” said Williams.
The only way to make it fair for everybody, said Williams, would be to close all of downtown to traffic.
“Which would be ridiculous and not useful,” he said. “I hear both sides. I hear people say it’s hurt business and I hear people say it’s helped.”
Almost directly across Wyndham Street from Easternwell Chinese Medicine is Harmony, an apparel and jewelry retailer. Manager Erica Palmer said business has never been better.
“We get crowds just before lunch and just before dinner,” said Palmer. “People are just excited to be out shopping.”
