‘Ready to go’: Osborne Village storefront vacancies being scooped up

After months of ‘vacancy’ and ‘for lease’ signs scattered across Osborne Village store fronts, the tides are shifting.

“Just as we predicted, as part of our revitalization plan… almost all of our buildings that have been vacant for some time, have new exciting tenants moving in,” Stephanie Meilleur from the Obsorne Village Biz said.

“Just in time for summer. So it’s a really exciting time down here in Osborne.”

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A new pizza place, a cannabis dispensary and a Vietnamese restaurant are just a few of the new businesses that will soon call the village home.

“A pizza franchise that will be going into the Second Cup space. As well as one of our businesses — Little Pizza Heaven — is going to be expanding and making a cafe sports bar pizza place… We have Delta 9 expanding and making their cannabis clinic even bigger and another cannabis dispensary moving into the former TD location,” Meilleur said.

Almost every spot has now been claimed with some set to open within a matter of days.

One of the village’s newest tenants, Pete’s Place, is set to open on Friday, June 29, just ahead of Canada Day.

“We are going to have a reduced menu for Canada Day because we couldn’t possibly do our whole menu,” owner Peter Vlahos said. “We’ll have 200 seats in the restaurant, 50 on the patio. We’ll be ready to go.”

PHOTO GALLERY:  View images of the new tenants opening soon in Osborne Village

Pete’s Place has taken over the location at the corner of Stradbrook and Osborne, which has had a bit of a revolving door for tenants over the past few years.

Basil’s occupied the restaurant space for years, but closed when the owner wanted to retire. It was replaced by Black Rabbit, which closed two years after opening its doors. The last tenant, Ward 1, closed in February after just two months in business. Yet another restaurant planned for the location — Little Goat Eats — never opened there, choosing another spot on Portage Avenue instead.

While others haven’t been able to keep the doors open, Pete’s Place’s owners aren’t worried.

“Past things that have happened here had really nothing to do on the business aspect,” Samantha Vlahos said. “It was more personal level so you can’t fault a beautiful space for poor management. I think our business has been strong enough, our following has been strong enough.”

“It’s very difficult to open a business now a days. It’s pretty hard to gain a following,” Peter Vlahos said.

“You kind of have to catch lightning in a bottle and get those certain people to come in and give you a review that catches like wildfire. Otherwise it can be pretty difficult.”

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The restaurant may be new to the neighbourhood, but it’s got a long history with Winnipeg and the owners are counting on its reputation in the city to help boost business in the early days.

“When we first opened on Main Street. it took us about three to four years for it to catch on and actually make a living on it,” Peter Vlahos said. “It was really tough the first few years. (But) we’ve been around for 17 years no. People seem to like us.”

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Pete’s Place had been a fixture on Main Street in West Kildonan for 17 years. That location closed in November as the owners looked to expand to a new spot near Polo Park on Empress St.

However, water damage stopped them from actually getting business up and running just days before they were set to open.

Now the duo think they have found their perfect new home in Osborne Village.

“I’m pretty pumped. We’re not changing. We still are who we are. Yes the building might be a little fancier. Yes the building is a little bigger but we still welcome everybody,” Samantha Vlahos said.

RELATED: Osborne Village going through growing pains, not decline: residents

While none of the other new stores planned for the village have released opening dates, the excitement is already building.

“Every neighbourhood throughout the country has its ebbs and flows, its ups and downs,” Meilleur said. “We are on our way. It’s very exciting. We have known this for a few years. We’ve worked really hard at our streetscaping elements, our promo events and putting the village back on the map in a new positive way.”