Bleak Blowers

A couple of weeks back, Cadence Macmichael closed her Pretty Things Boutique, citing frustration with city policies around street construction and other issues.

The incident raises the question: Is Blowers Street the next Barrington Street? Remember the hue and cry when Barrington Street storefronts were papered over, how it was all the fault of city council not doing, well, something? Well now we have four papered-over storefronts on Blowers Street: the former ProSkates, Pretty Things, I Love Sushi and King of Donair.

During the Barrington to-do, I felt the situation was being overblown. After all, there were just three empty storefronts: Dooly’s, Ginger’s Tavern and Sam the Record Man. Dooly’s was doing fine, but was evicted because the landlord wants to rebuild, and Sam’s, like HMV above, succumbed to changing consumer tastes. Arguably, at least by its owner, Ginger’s was a victim of city policy, but those policies haven’t prevented other Barrington bars like Obladee (1600 Barrington Street, 405-4505) and Pogue Fado (1581 Barrington Street, 429-6222) from thriving.

Bruce MacKinnon, director of the Downtown Halifax Business Commission, agrees. “There’s a ebb and flow in retail,” he tells me. “A few things came together a few years ago on Barrington, but the street’s doing really well right now. And we’re keeping our eye on Blowers, but I’m not too concerned about it.”

That’s how it goes in retail. Where some fail, there’s opportunity for others. I’m told rent in the old Pretty Things space is just $6,000/month, if anyone’s interested.

This article appears in Oct 4-10, 2012.