Counter culture: Downtown St. John's is changing, but retailers say scene is still vibrant

Despite stories of businesses shutting their doors in the downtown St. John's area, either closing their doors for good or moving shop, things are not all doom and gloom, say owners.

That's just one topic of discussion on the agenda for Wednesday's Downtown Business Summit, the 30th annual meeting where local business owners sit down and discuss what's new, what's old, and what needs to change.

"We figured it's a good time to talk about where we started, where we're to right now, and what we want for the future of downtown St. John's," says Gaylynne Gulliver of Downtown St. John's.

Definitely downtown St. John's is the place to be.- Nycki Temple-Delisle

That organization has been around since the mid-'60s, Gulliver said, and has gone through a few rebrandings, but has always worked with business owners to improve downtown to make it "a better place to live, work, shop and visit."

And the changing face of downtown is something Byron Murphy is familiar with.

Murphy has been working in the downtown area since 1985, and opened his own business, Byron's Clothing for Men, in 1992.

"It's called the triple threat, I guess," Murphy said, of his role as a business owner, a building owner and a landlord.

"I live up above my building, I have my business on the second floor, and we rent downstairs."

He's seen plenty of changes in his years downtown, and said businesses open and close all the time, but downtown is "the hub of the city."

"I've seen plenty of changes. I'm one of the older dogs now still in business," he told CBC's St. John's Morning Show, adding that he doesn't look at the changing landscape as an up or down situation.

"I call them corrections, and I think we're just going through another correction in the area of downtown. We've had a bunch of new places open up again in the last couple of months, so it just morphs in its own way."

'This is the area to be'

Some big companies have left as tenants in the larger office towers built in recent years and, while that can be worrisome, since the employees are customers who may no longer need to come downtown, Murphy said, it creates a chance for a different type of growth.

"Vibrant downtowns across Canada right now, a lot of people live in the area, shop in the area," he said.

"So maybe it's an opportunity now to turn some of these bigger buildings, to turn some stuff into apartments and condos, and have people living in the area."

Murphy said he can't imagine ever moving his business somewhere else because the "entrepreneurial spirit" is downtown.

"This is the area to be."

That's a sentiment echoed by Nycki Temple-Delisle, who has owned and run Hempware since 1997 and will be celebrating 22 years in business next month.

Twenty-two years is a long time to be behind the counter and still love your job.- Nycki Temple-Delisle

"I became an independent business owner because I wanted to do my own thing and follow my own rules, and downtown you can actually be your own unique business," she said.

"You actually have a lot more freedom downtown. And if you want to own a business and you want the same vibe of the people that come down, all the tourists that come down, all the locals that live in the area, definitely downtown St. John's is the place to be."

She said the city has become far more beautiful than it was when she first opened her shop in the mid-'90s, and while things have always been changing, it's way more vibrant now.

And just because a shop closes doesn't mean business isn't good, she added.

"Not everybody lasts, not everybody sticks around, and also people have different personal agendas, as well, so it's not just because business wasn't good; they were just ready to move on."

'I don't get tired of it'

Temple-Delisle said other than taking some time off when her children were young, she's been at the shop and behind the counter most days over the more than two decades in business.

It's that dedication, she said, from herself and her staff that has made her business work.

"My biggest thing is great customer service. I've got a really good staff, I love the area … and most of our customers, when they leave the shop, they're glad they gave us their money. I think customer service and offering a unique product, which we do, just keeps us around," she said.

"Twenty-two years is a long time to be behind the counter and still love your job."

And as for negative press, Temple-Delisle said, it's all a matter of how you look at things.

"I don't get tired of it," she said, adding that in bigger cities, there are way more problems. "It's just the spin that you put on it."

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