Mike Georgiopoulos remembers when Vancouver’s West Broadway corridor in Kitsilano was the place to shop.
“West Broadway used to be one of the No. 1 shopping areas in town. Lately, it’s not,” said the owner of the Minerva Mediterranean Deli. “I don’t know what we have to do to bring the people back.”
Georgiopoulos, who has operated his business in Kitsilano for more than 40 years, says it’s gotten tougher to make money.
Foot traffic, he says, is declining. In a completely unscientific survey he conducted 26 years ago, Georgiopoulos used a clicker to count people walking by.
“I had over 15,000 people crossing Trutch and Broadway, up and down,” he said.
He did the same thing two years ago and counted around 3,500 people.
Donna Dobo is closing the Just Imagine Costume Shop after almost 30 years on West Broadway.
“Prices are going up drastically in the neighbourhood and the traffic is going way down. There are just not as many people living in this area,” she said.
“The families are all moving to Main Street and so my Broadway store has moved to Mount Pleasant.”
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In the last two years, nine businesses were forced to vacate the 3000-block of West Broadway to make room for a Shopper’s Drug Mart and rental apartments. Across the street, Kidsbooks and six other businesses are moving for the same reason.
“We were fortunate to find a great location just four-and-a-half blocks east of this location and it will be business as usual,” Phyllis Simon of Kidsbooks said.
That’s the case with many businesses. Michelle Barile of the West Broadway Improvement Association said merchants know the neighbourhood is changing, but many still want to stay.
“It is reassuring to see developments in the area that have more affordable housing components, and I think that’s very important to keep the neighbourhood vibrant and sustainable,” she said.
In the last two years, 28 new businesses have opened in the neighbourhood. Foot traffic may be down, but merchants on West Broadway say it’s still a shopping destination.
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