I grew up in NF, though I left to go away to college in 1989 and lived various places around the province for 18 years before returning here in 2007. I was shocked to drive down Queen St for the first time on my return... virtually everything boarded up and abandoned. But that was just around the time when the Downtown Business Improvement plan got rolling. Since then there must be 20 - 30 new businesses that have opened... bars, restaurants, cafes, a micro brewery, a bakery, art galleries, theatre company, dance studio, lots of live music etc on top of several tenacious businesses that have endured through the hard times. I am spending more and more time down there and it does get quite busy on Fri / Sat and other nights when there is a special event on. Away from this core area, there is a new Shoppers Drug Mart opening on a formerly dead stretch of Victoria Street.
Again, part of the challenge is to get tourists to explore this part of the city. I'm sure the downtown BIA is not getting much help on that from the established tourist areas who would like to keep all the people in their own part of town. Another thing that occurs to me is that there should be additional mid-rise housing built to increase the local population so that these businesses can be sustained through the "off season".
I am definitely passionate about the rebirth of downtown NF and I try to get down there a couple times a week to spend some money. The people down there are much more interesting and friendly than most you meet at suburban bars. Many of them have encouraged me to move downtown and become part of the rebirth. I have definitely started to consider it....
So, come experience it yourself (before the weather turns crappy)!
