‘Death by a thousand cuts’: Half a dozen downtown Edmonton restaurants closing

Downtown Edmonton is facing a wave of restaurant closures, with at least six establishments shutting their doors since the beginning of June. Restaurateurs are sounding the alarm about an alarming trend they attribute to a combination of factors, including prolonged construction projects and safety concerns.

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The cost of running this beautiful restaurant is not easy.

Maheik Bhasin, former operations manager of Khazana, an Indian restaurant that served the community for 28 years, cited ongoing construction for the O-day'min Park and the Valley Line West LRT as primary reasons for her business's demise. "The cost of running this beautiful restaurant is not easy," she said, explaining that blocked vehicle access and confusing pedestrian detours deterred customers, leading to significant financial losses.

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The whole planning, or lack of planning, needs to be revisited.

Khazana was not alone. Since its closure, Greta bar, kb&co, Kommune, Bündok, and PlayWright have also announced their departures. Chris Decock, owner of Greta bar, noted that multiple issues, not a single cause, contributed to the challenging operating environment. "No single decision brought us here. It wasn’t one tax increase. It wasn’t patio fees. It wasn’t paid parking. It wasn’t hybrid work. It wasn’t safety. It wasn’t one construction project," he wrote in a statement.

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Our downtown is very sad. It’s really discouraging to see. It looks like a ghost town.

The Downtown Revitalization Coalition echoes these concerns, highlighting that construction for the Valley Line LRT and other roadwork projects has impacted business access for months, if not years. Coalition member Cheryll Watson emphasized the need for better urban planning and proposed solutions. These include integrating transit and peace officers with the Edmonton Police Service, increasing police visibility in high-priority areas, establishing a 24-hour stabilization facility for crisis response, and improving performance tracking for response times.

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No single decision brought us here. It wasn’t one tax increase. It wasn’t patio fees. It wasn’t paid parking. It wasn’t hybrid work. It wasn’t safety. It wasn’t one construction project.