Central LRT station cafe considering closure over safety concerns

WATCH ABOVE: A cafe that opened last fall in the Central LRT station may have to close its doors due to safety concerns. Fletcher Kent has more.

EDMONTON – A downtown Edmonton cafe may shut down due to concerns over the safety of its staff.

Since Burrow Cafe became the first business to open in the Central LRT station in the fall of 2014, management has developed a growing concern over their staff’s safety after a long list of confrontations, vandalism, and property theft.

“Honestly, it’s tough for them. It beats them down and it’s unfair for me to put them in those situations,” said Burrow Cafe general manager Mike Forgie.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Honestly, it's tough for them. It beats them down and it's unfair for me to put them in those situations," said Burrow Cafe general manager Mike Forgie.

“After a long week of a few incidents happening, it’s kind of like I got to take them out for a round just to ease some of the week and get them on board for the next week.”

READ MORE: Coffee shop becomes first business to open underground on LRT concourse

Burrow Cafe has reduced its hours of operation from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. because the majority of issues have happened in the afternoon.

“It stems from times of the day when traffic is not as busy down there, there’s less people, and that tends to bring in crowds that you don’t often see as a commuter,” explained Forgie.

Burrow Cafe owner Nate Box met with city staff Thursday morning to discuss the issues and possible solutions. Box voiced his belief that Burrow Cafe can’t work under established rules and regulations.

“That doesn’t fit and that doesn’t work. And so going forward…a lot of it was the concerns and the questions weren’t necessarily making it up the chain to the right people.”

Box has also spoken to Mayor Don Iveson about his concerns, and feels he has the mayor’s support.

“This morning he mentioned and he just said that this is great, and we need to be aware of these situations,” said Box. “And this is a real challenge for the city of Edmonton, and for ETS to step up and to fix an issue.”

Iveson said steps have been taken to improve safety at LRT stations, but it will take some time before change kicks in.

“Wifi and cellphone coverage on the system is going to help people feel that they can call for help in the future,” said Iveson.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "Wifi and cellphone coverage on the system is going to help people feel that they can call for help in the future," said Iveson.

“We’ve added more police officers and peace officers to the system. So council is taking a lot of steps to improve safety.”

ETS said it is working on helping to resolve the issues Burrow Cafe has been facing.