00:00:02 Kate Yoshida

Welcome to the city. That fun forgot Ottawa’s nightlife dilemma. A show where we dig into the question that’s haunted Canada’s capital for years is Ottawa as boring as people say. Were your hosts Kate Yoshida? Alicia Primiani, Mackenzie Charbonneau, and Habone Omar Hassan and this series explores the city after dark. What’s on the rise, what’s failing.

00:00:21 Kate Yoshida

And why we’re talking to bar owners, students and artists to unpack the cultural, economic and political forces shaping the city’s nightlife.

00:00:30 Kate Yoshida

I’m today’s host, Kate Yoshida, and on this episode of the Cost of good time, we’re uncovering the truth on the economic realities of running a bar in Canada’s capital. Is Ottawa’s nightlife really dying, or is it becoming too expensive to keep the lights on?

00:00:54 Kate Yoshida

Nightlife in Ottawa has been struggling for a long time, often seen as a quiet government town with a harsh 9 to 5 culture, the city has found it difficult to shake that reputation. And in recent years these cracks have deepened, while other major cities like Montreal and Toronto have bounced back from the pandemic, with a bustling club scene and a vibrant.

00:01:13 Kate Yoshida

Our Auto’s venues are closing at an alarming rate, rising inflation, shifting consumer habits and the skyrocketing cost of food. Rent and alcohol are just a few challenges business owners face in the hospitality and entertainment industries. A study conducted by Restaurants Canada indicated that nearly 50% of all independent hospitality.

00:01:34 Kate Yoshida

Businesses in Ontario are profiting at a.

00:01:36 Kate Yoshida

Loss.

00:01:42 Kate Yoshida

To understand why Ottawa’s nightlife is struggling today, we can’t ignore the impact of COVID-19. The pandemic didn’t just pause the party if fundamentally change how we socialize, how we spend, and what we value on a.

00:01:54 Kate Yoshida

Night.

00:01:54 Kate Yoshida

Out when lockdowns first hit in March 2020, bars, clubs, music venues and late night restaurants.

00:02:00 Kate Yoshida

Were among the first to close and the last to reopen for months. Dance floor sat empty. Patios were folded up and entire entertainment districts like the Byward Market lost their energy, and even when these restrictions were lifted, the rebound wasn’t immediate.

00:02:15 Kate Yoshida

In cities like Ottawa, where the downtown core is heavily dependent on government workers and tourism, the shift to remote work created a ghost town effect. With fewer people commuting to work, the spontaneous after work strengths and weekend outings began to disappear. And for new or smaller venues that hadn’t built up a strong following. Yet, this meant navigating rising costs with declining.

00:02:36 Kate Yoshida

What traffic?

00:02:37 Kate Yoshida

According to Statistics Canada, nearly one in four food service businesses in Ontario shut down during the height of the pandemic, many of them to never reopen, and even those who survived the financial strain was enormous, pivoting to take out models, investing in outdoor dining setups, or laying off staff just to stay afloat. But perhaps the most lasting impact.

00:02:57 Kate Yoshida

Has been psychological.

00:02:59 Kate Yoshida

COVID-19 shifted consumer habits. People became more comfortable staying in more cautious about crowds and more selective with their spending that stay at home culture hasn’t entirely gone away. And for nightlife, businesses built on spontaneous decisions, it’s a change that’s really hard to ignore.

00:03:24 Kate Yoshida

I spoke to Dr. Ian Lee, an associate professor for the Sprouts Business School at Carlton University, about his insights on why consumers may be shifting their habits and how businesses are reacting to the economical shifts.

00:03:38 Kate Yoshida

1. Well, first of all, thank you for joining me. I really appreciate it.

00:03:42 Dr. Ian Lee

You’re welcome.

00:03:42 Kate Yoshida

How has inflation and rising interest rates impacted small businesses, especially nightlife establishments in Ottawa?

00:03:51 Dr. Ian Lee

There’s 2 answers to that question. Inflation is generally infected, small businesses writ large across the different sectors.

00:04:00 Dr. Ian Lee

I think it hits them harder than big large businesses because they small businesses are what economists call price takers. They don’t have market power. Why? Because they’re not big and powerful. They’re just a little tiny establishment with two or five or ten employees, or 50 employees, which is nothing compared to a giant McDonald’s or a giant.

00:04:21 Dr. Ian Lee

Chain of any kind so they don’t have market power to push and force. When I say force make price increases, stick a Starbucks can do it. A small business can’t, at least not as easily. It’s much more difficult because they risk losing their customers who just walk away and say I’m going to go somewhere else.

00:04:44 Kate Yoshida

To get a closer look on how these economic pressures are playing out in real time, I spoke to one of the few independent spots still standing back to Brooklyn is a small Bar and Grill nestled in the heart of the Byward Market, owned and operated by Nigel, someone who’s been with the establishment since day one.

00:05:01 Kate Yoshida

Back to Brooklyn was opened just months before the COVID-19 pandemic struck Ottawa and forced the restaurant to quickly adapt to new.

00:05:08 Kate Yoshida

Reality, unlike long standing venues in the area with a built in base of regular customers, Nigel and his team were starting from the Scratch, building their business during lockdown, abiding by mandatory curfews and the ever changing regulations the city implemented. And Even so, the bar is still standing today, according to the Ottawa Coalition of Business Improvement.

00:05:29 Kate Yoshida

Areas small businesses across the market have faced massive setbacks, with many nightlife staples closing their doors for good, from staffing shortages to surging costs in rent, food and alcohol, the environment has only gotten more difficult to navigate.

00:05:44 Kate Yoshida

And yet, back to Brooklyn is still pushing forward. I sat down with Nigel to talk about what it really takes to stay open in a city where fun is often an afterthought, and whether the rising cost of doing businesses is putting Ottawa’s nightlife on the chopping block.

00:06:03 Kate Yoshida

First of all, thank you for joining me.

00:06:06 Kate Yoshida

So how have rising costs, food, alcohol staffing and even rent affect your ability to operate as an establishment?

00:06:14 Nigel

Been really challenging. You know, we did, we do have a lease that we signed, so rent hasn’t been changing too much for us. But you’re absolutely right. You know food costs, liquor costs, labour obviously with the minimum wage increase that that keeps creeping up on us. It’s been really challenging to try and keep our costs reasonable.

00:06:34 Nigel

Without having to gouge the customers by increasing our menu prices to too much. So we’ve had to be creative in terms of ways to save money, ways to cut costs without sacrificing the guest experience. That’s been a real challenge.

00:06:49 Kate Yoshida

So out of curiosity, what has changed for back to Brooklyn since the pandemic?

00:06:54 Nigel

Yeah, I mean.

00:06:55 Nigel

But the pandemic was an interesting time for us. You know the like I said, it was opened by my my partners team in Will and it was their first time sort of in hospitality in the restaurant business. I was working as a bartender actually back then and we had some interesting challenges with constantly changing rules.

00:07:14 Nigel

And and lockdown rules to follow.

00:07:19 Nigel

At the time, we were very lucky because the city had agreed to close down Clarence Street for pedestrian traffic only, which allowed us to build an extended patio. So even during when outdoor seating was the only thing permitted and stuff, our restaurant grew 4 times the size in terms of our patio seating. So.

00:07:38 Nigel

We were able to still.

00:07:40 Nigel

You know, stay open, generate revenue and give guests an awesome experience during the summer months in the winter months, we had to get really creative. You know, we ended up building a sort of heated patio. We ended up buying 50 snuggies for people blankets so they could sit on the patio on the heated patio in winter.

00:07:58 Nigel

And stay warm.

00:08:01 Nigel

Just different creative ways like that and then obviously following all of the guidelines from public health.

00:08:05 Kate Yoshida

I know you mentioned during.

00:08:07 Kate Yoshida

COVID you were able to.

00:08:08

Sort.

00:08:09

Of.

00:08:09 Kate Yoshida

Have an open patio outside, but aside from that, have you received any sort of support from the city or even the province that has helped you sort of combat this, like declining nightlife in Ottawa?

00:08:22 Nigel

I’m sad to say. Unfortunately not. You know, we’ve we’ve been really hoping for a bit more support.

00:08:29 Nigel

Either you know the municipal level specifically, especially with Ottawa getting a nightmare. You know, I could, I think I speak for the other managers and owners in the Byward market that we were all very excited for some energized reinvigorating spirit in the in the Byward Market. When it comes to.

00:08:50 Nigel

Entertainment. I mean, it’s called the nightmare, right? So night Entertainment just a little bit more fun things, reasons for people to get out of the house and make their way down to the Byward Market. I have. I felt like we’ve been lacking a little support, you know, from.

00:09:06 Nigel

From from the authorities, from officials, in terms of what what we’re trying to do, I know there’s been some incentives that have really had a negative impact on the entertainment industry in the Ballard market and tourism as well. In terms of, you know, not closing down the street as an example.

00:09:27 Nigel

In terms of having a pedestrian kind of Fair walkway access, that was, that was one thing that we’ve been lobbying for that hasn’t been done, but also.

00:09:34 Nigel

Increased parking prices, increased parking regulation, making it a bit less accessible for people to to want to get downtown.

00:09:44 Nigel

You know, things like last summer they had a new incentive where no music was allowed downtown after 11:00 PM, which was very interesting as most of the bars and restaurants are obviously open past 11:00 PM till till 2:00 AM. But cracking down on on what seems like fun. And I hate to say that Ottawa has reputation as the city that fun for God.

00:10:04 Nigel

But you know, we it’s not for lack of trying. I think I speak again once I speak.

00:10:08 Nigel

There, the owners and managers and bartenders and servers and most people in the market. When I say that it’s not for lack of effort, we are always looking to push the boundaries for ways that people can live their experiences and make memories and enjoy, you know, responsibly and safely at night out on the town, but some more support.

00:10:29 Nigel

From either the city of Ottawa or Nightmare or whatever would be much, much, much appreciated so that we can bring back some of the the fire and excitement and and passion that people had for socializing and going out and spending nights out in the town that we had before COVID.

00:10:46 Kate Yoshida

Between rising costs, labour shortages and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, small businesses like back to Brooklyn are doing everything they can to stay flow. As Doctor Lee mentioned, these aren’t just economical shifts. They’re cultural ones too. Peoples habits have changed, and now businesses that once brought life to the city after dark are being forced to evolve.

00:11:05 Kate Yoshida

Or risk being left behind. So maybe Ottawa is not the city that time forgot. Maybe it’s the city in transition, one that needs a little more support, a little more vision and a whole lot of heart to bring the nightlife back to life.

00:11:22 Kate Yoshida

Thanks for tuning in to the cost of a good time. If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to check out our website for more insights into Ottawa’s nightlife scene.

00:11:31 Kate Yoshida

Next time on the city, that fund forgot Ottawa’s nightlife dilemma. Alicia will be covering skip, skip and stay in and will explore the barriers of drinking culture in this city.

00:11:41 Kate Yoshida

That’s a wrap. See you next time.