Some 11th Avenue Regina businesses say revitalization project is harming bottom lines

Businesses on 11th Avenue in downtown Regina are saying the revitalization project on the street is driving away customers, leading one longtime store to leave the area for good, while another plans to do the same next year.

Mortise and Tenon, a household goods retailer, and Norwood, a clothing store, are both relocating to the Cathedral neighborhood.

The owners say the move is a consequence of the 11th Avenue revitalization project, which has torn up the street in a multi-year effort to replace aging infrastructure and sidewalks. It is planned to be completed in 2027.

"My concern is that by the time this is over, there may not be anyone left on 11th to welcome everybody back to the downtown," said Mortise and Tenon co-owner Dani Hackle.

The project is being completed in phases, blocking off two to four blocks at a time. Currently, the road is closed between Albert and Lorne streets. The sidewalks on both sides of the street are still accessible, but the street itself is blocked off, disrupting parking and public transit.

The project coincides with several major revitalization efforts taking place around the city. Dewdney Avenue, Saskatchewan Drive and Scarth Street also have upgrades planned or underway.

Hackle moved her business from a location on 11th Avenue to 13th Avenue in the Cathedral area in October 2024. Mortise and Tenon had been on 11th Avenue since January 2016.

"What we were finding is that not only were we losing our regular customers who were having a hard time navigating the construction and the detours and all of that, but we also weren't gaining any new customers downtown because you just couldn't get to our space," she said.

Concern for other businesses

Hackle said she appreciates the goal of the revitalization project and is optimistic about how 11th Avenue will look when construction is finished, but is worried about how many businesses in the area will survive until its completion.

"I don't see how we would have been able to make it work," she said of her own business's prospects had it stayed in its previous location. "Plus the vision of our business and where we were headed wouldn't have been conducive downtown anymore."

Clothing store Norwood is currently operating a new location on 13th Avenue, alongside its older location downtown on 11th Avenue, but will fully transition into its 13th Avenue space in 2026.

Cornelia Biegler, who co-owns Norwood and Tiki Room, said Norwood's lease is up, and that the lower foot traffic and higher crime downtown is leading her to make the move.

"We're not coming back. We have no desire to be down there," she said.

"There's no [Regina] Folk Festival this year, there's no farmers' market downtown anymore. There's no reason for anybody to come downtown, which is so sad.

"But literally there's nothing going on. So now I'm on 13th Avenue, and this is a vibrant community. Like, there's stuff going on constantly here."

Biegler said she has no plans to move Tiki Room, which sells skateboards and clothing.

Culture Grooming Lounge, which is just down the street from Norwood and Tiki Room, also has no plans to leave.

John Christie, the barbershop's manager, said Culture has lost a few clients with the construction, but he's generally optimistic about riding out the disruptions.

"The lucky part about us being a barber shop is people have an appointment, they're gonna come," he said. "They're gonna be late, and the majority of our clients are late, but they still come."

"If we were a retailer, if we were a restaurant, people would just go somewhere else."

How one business is adapting

A restaurant just down the street from Culture is The Cure Kitchen + Bar, which is co-owned by Kelly Cairns. She said the construction has been disruptive, but has found ways to cope with anticipated lower revenue. She does not have plans to move.

"We're still seeing a lot of our regulars, so we're doing OK. We are closing for a week in July just to help with cost, just because we usually have a slowdown in July anyway," she said. "We've also just scaled back a little bit on our events for this summer as well and to reduce the size of our patio."

"We're kind of taking an austerity approach or kind of scaling down something just to cut a few costs in anticipation of sales going down."

What the mayor is saying

In a conversation with the CBC's Morning Edition on June 12, Regina Mayor Chad Bachynski said he's heard the concerns about the construction, but encourages people to remember the long-term benefits of the project, which should bring significantly more people to the area compared to before.

"I absolutely acknowledge that it can be frustrating to get around," he said. "But when we're talking about 11th Avenue in particular, there's infrastructure underground there that's being replaced that is from 1913.

"The vibrancy that that's going to bring when it's all said and done is extremely exciting. So hopefully it is this short term pain for an extremely long-term positive gain."