'Maybe it's time for me to retire': Sudbury café owner questions future amid rising downtown disorder

A downtown Sudbury café owner known for her support of the local homeless community says she's exhausted and is considering retirement as social disorder and public drug use continue to rise in the city's core.

"I feel like I've tried to help, and I feel like it's to the point where it's just useless," said Kuppajo Espresso Bar owner Betty-Ann Serré.

Her coffee shop, located on Larch Street, has operated for nearly a decade — just steps from Memorial Park, a space that's seen several homeless encampments in recent years.

Serré said she opened Kuppajo to be part of downtown's community and has long offered support to people living on the street.

One initiative, a "suspended coffee fund," allows customers to donate toward coffee and food for those in need.

"I would go out in the park and I would bring muffins and coffee… before we'd open the doors at seven," she said. "I just feel sorry for those kids, and I feel sorry for their families, because it is a sad, sad, sad thing."

In the early years, she said, not everyone appreciated her efforts.

"There was a business owner down the laneway putting his garbage out, and he called me the terriblest name, you know. And he says, 'You're the one that's feeding all them,'" Serré recalled.

Business decline and safety concerns escalate

Serré says the changing atmosphere downtown — marked by open drug use and disruptive behaviour — has driven many customers away.

"I've lost a lot of customers, and I've seen them around. They just don't like to come downtown, whether it's here or anywhere downtown," she said.

Delivery disruptions have also added strain. She said some distributors now refuse to come to the laneway behind her shop, which backs onto St. Andrew's Place, a church and outreach centre where unhoused individuals often gather.

Two weeks ago, one supplier cancelled an ice delivery.

"When they noticed all the people in the laneway. They thought there was no way they can come down there. They didn't want to be responsible. There was tents on half of the road," Serré said.

As she approaches 10 years in business, Serré said she feels burned out.

"Maybe it's time for me to retire. I feel like, you know, I've done my job here downtown and hopefully things get better, because it is a sad thing," she added. "I don't want to see this for the rest of my life, I don't want to have to deal with this. It's a very sad thing."

'We're all frustrated'

Jeff MacIntyre, executive director of Downtown Sudbury, said many business owners are feeling the same way.

"We're all frustrated," he said. "I don't think there's anybody in the community not frustrated."

He said the area has been hit hard by broader national and provincial problems, including housing shortages, mental health gaps and the toxic drug crisis. He said his team works closely with police, city officials and outreach partners to manage the effects.

"Finding that re-balance has been really important, and it's making a difference," MacIntyre said.

CBC News has spoken with other business owners in Sudbury's downtown who are considering complete relocation due to increased safety concerns.

MacIntyre points to things like the opening of city-run cooling centres, which he said immediately reduced the number of incidents on the street by giving people a place to go.

He said part of the challenge is perception. When fewer people are downtown, any single incident feels more visible and threatening.

"When it's just you and that user, some people feel unsafe," MacIntyre said, adding that he thinks the solution lies in holding more events to attract more people to the streets of downtown. 

"When we throw an event, it's like a light switch — downtown changes. The amount of people down here, feet on the street, behaviour on the street — everything changes."

Progress happening, but pace is slow

Despite signs of improvement, MacIntyre said it's understandable that long-time business owners are growing tired.

"We are seeing some of that shift start to come back… but little bits of light and little bits of improvement don't necessarily show as well for those folks and I don't blame them."

He said there are more businesses opening than closing by "a substantial margin" in the downtown area. 

Still, he acknowledged there's no quick fix and that sustaining optimism is harder for those who've weathered years of instability.

"When people feel unsafe, places become unsafe. When people feel safe, places become safer," MacIntyre said. "We're doing things to increase the amount of time that downtown feels safe."