Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - July 16, 2024, Winnipeg, Manitoba B5 TUESDAY JULY 16, 2024 ● BUSINESS@FREEPRESS.MB.CA ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM BUSINESS Parking, security, traffic concerns fuel former plant hub’s move from Osborne Village: Verde Candle Bar co-owner SEEKING GREENER PASTURES A N Osborne Village plant shop has uprooted — decrying a lack of foot traffic, parking and support — for a more pedestri- an-friendly neighbourhood. In its move, Verde Plant Design will change business models — transi- tioning to Winnipeg’s first candle bar — and land on Academy Road. “It’s time to move on,” said Dominika Dratwa, co-owner of Verde Candle Bar (formerly Verde Plant Design). She considered exiting the hub near Confusion Corner for more than a year. Verde, which sold plants and held plant-related workshops, rented space at 218 Osborne St. since January 2020. The past four years brought small-business challenges beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, Dratwa relayed. First, customers stressed about park- ing. There’s no loading zone in front; finding a spot in the back was “like win- ning the lottery,” she said. There’s also been an increased focus on crime in Osborne Village. Last week, the Manitoba government announced it would spend $1 million to extend a po- lice program curbing retail and violent crime in hot spots, including the central Winnipeg neighbourhood. Verde clients had expressed fear about visiting the area, Dratwa said. That worry, coupled with a concern about finding parking, likely kept cus- tomers away, she added. “Osborne traffic is a huge problem,” Dratwa said, noting she wishes vehi- cles were slower on the busy road. “I wouldn’t want to walk a child down Os- borne.” The Osborne Village Business Improvement Zone released a guiding document last year for the strip’s fu- ture. Dratwa wishes more of the rec- ommendations were implemented, such as introducing more street parking. She recounted a lack of foot traffic near Confusion Corner, echoing Unique Bunny beauty supply store, which left the Village last year. But the main reason for switching the business model, Dratwa said, was be- cause she and her daughter (and busi- ness partner) fell in love with candle making and sought a change. The right time came as the Osborne Village lease expired and Verde inked a deal for 484 Academy Rd. “I’m over the moon,” Dratwa en- thused. “(Candle making) is such a posi- tive, fun experience. We wanted to put all of our focus on that.” She’s aiming to open Aug. 10. The site will accept walk-ins wanting to pick scents and create candles Thursdays through Sundays. A 8.5-ounce candle with a burn time of 50 to 60 hours runs $50, Dratwa outlined. More in-depth candle-making sessions will be available through pre-bookings. Body-oil and bath-salt creation will be offered, as will previ- ous Verde workshops such as winter wreath making and moss art. Pre-made candles will dot a retail section of the store. Dratwa estimates she’s held work- shops with hundreds of people over the past decade. They’re on the itinerary for some workplace wellness days. “It’s definitely a big decision for us to make,” Dratwa said of the transition, adding she feels the plant sales chapter of Verde is, for her, finished. Verde will be missed, said Zohreh Gervais, executive director of the Os- borne Village BIZ. “I hope that they will come back at some point,” she commented. “They were a lovely addition.” Meantime, calming traffic through the Osborne strip is “an ongoing discus- sion,” Gervais added. The City of Win- nipeg voted against adding a scramble intersection at Osborne Street and Riv- er Avenue in April, opting instead for a pilot project. Gervais hopes the pilot will take place in the Village. She’s advocating for pedestrian-focused changes such as a reduced speed limit, more street parking and sidewalk widening. “We’re going to have so many more pedestrians in the area very soon,” Gervais underlined. Two new apartment blocks are set to open in Osborne Village later this year. Further, the opening of two restaurants in the former Basil’s location — both by popular chefs — should draw custom- ers, Gervais predicted. Meantime, the Osborne Village BIZ has been implementing every docu- ment recommendation within its con- trol, Gervais continued. It includes creating an active trans- portation network with other business improvement zones — bike lanes are currently being built on River Avenue — and adding lighting and signage to public areas. There’s been an uptick in foot traffic, especially with the opening of Small Mercies’ European-style courtyard and Cleocatra Café, Gervais said. However, not all entrepreneurs are seeing the clientele. “I’m watching … there’s hardly any- one walking,” said Sadhana Malhotra, co-owner of Silver Skies. “Why? It’s July. It’s nice outside.” “We have excuses for every day,” added Ashok Malhotra, Sadhana’s hus- band and partner at the gift shop. “To- day’s not bright, today’s raining … It’s the weekend for folk fest.” The couple opened the shop near Verde Plant Design roughly 1 ½ years ago, af- ter leaving Osborne Village in 2022. They’d exited because of recurring crime and were hesitant to return. Still, they did, and the three-block difference has brought a drastic reduction in theft, though not an eradication, the Malho- tras stated. They’re hopeful the coming arrival of apartment tenants will boost busi- ness. An overall higher cost of living could be the reason why people aren’t shopping, they speculated. Parking is an issue in Osborne, Sad- hana said. To neighbouring entrepreneur David Moxley, it isn’t. “People that are need-driven find a way here,” said the owner of Moxley’s Rentals. The city has been focused on sup- porting Osborne-area businesses with their most prominent concern: secur- ity, Coun. Sherri Rollins said. Increased police and Sabe Peace Walker patrols have helped with a feeling of safety, Rollins and Gervais stated. Businesses moving to the area and upcoming commercial space in the new apartment blocks challenge the trope Osborne Village is “somehow not suc- ceeding,” Rollins stated. gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com GABRIELLE PICHÉ MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Dominika (left) and Zoe Dratwa, co-owners of Verde Candle Bar (formerly Verde Plant Design), in the company’s old space on Osborne Street. ‘It’s time to move on,’ Dominika says of the change of address and business plan. MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS Verde Plant Design will become a candle bar and reopen in August on Academy Road. Fed more confident inflation is slowing: chairman WASHINGTON — Chairman Jerome Powell said Monday the U.S. Federal Reserve is becoming more convinced inflation is headed back to its two per cent target and said the Fed would cut rates before the pace of price increases actually reached that point. “We’ve had three better readings, and if you average them, that’s a pretty good pace,” Powell said of inflation in a ques- tion-and-answer question at the Econom- ic Club of Washington. Those figures, he said, “do add somewhat to confidence” inflation is slowing sustainably. Powell declined to provide any hints of when the first rate cut would occur. But most economists foresee the first cut occurring in September, and after Powell’s remarks Wall Street trad- ers boosted their expectation the Fed would reduce its key rate then from its 23-year high. The futures markets ex- pect additional rate cuts in November and December. “Today,” Powell said, “I’m not going to send any signals on any particular meeting.” Rate reductions by the Fed would, over time, reduce consumers’ borrow- ing costs for things like mortgages, auto loans and credit cards. Last week, the U.S. government reported consumer prices declined slightly from May to June, bringing inflation down to a year-over-year rate of three per cent, from 3.3 per cent in May. So-called “core” prices, which ex- clude volatile energy and food costs and often provide a better read of where in- flation is likely headed, climbed 3.3 per cent from a year earlier, below 3.4 per cent in May. In his remarks Monday, Powell stressed the Fed did not need to wait until inflation actually reached two per cent to cut borrowing costs. “If you wait until inflation gets all the way down to two per cent, you’ve prob- ably waited too long,” Powell said, be- cause it takes time for the Fed’s policies to affect the economy. Powell also commented on the at- tempted assassination of former presi- dent Donald Trump Saturday, saying it was a “sad day for our country” and add- ing violence had no place in U.S. politics. After several high inflation readings at the start of the year had raised some concerns, Fed officials said they would need to see several months of declining price readings to be confident enough that inflation was fading sustainably to- ward its target level. June was the third consecutive month in which inflation cooled on an annual basis. — The Associated Press CHRISTOPHER RUGABER Deep sea mining body tackles code proposal amid growing concerns TENSE deliberations over how and if to allow deep sea mining unfolded Monday in Jamaica as at least one company threatened to apply for permission before rules and regula- tions are in place. More than two dozen countries have called for a ban, pause or mora- torium on deep sea mining — includ- ing most recently Peru and Greece — as the UN International Seabed Authority resumed talks over a proposed mining code after its last meeting in March. “We have two very busy weeks ahead of us,” said Olav Myklebust, the authority’s council president, as some countries warned the proposed regu- lator framework has significant gaps. The Jamaica-based authority, which is the global custodian for deep waters that don’t fall under a country’s jurisdiction, has granted 31 mining exploration contracts but has not authorized any exploitation as the debate continues. Much of the ongoing exploration is centred in the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone, which covers 4.5 mil- lion square kilometres between Ha- waii and Mexico. It is occurring at depths of 4,000 to 6,000 metres. Scientists have said minerals at those depths take millions of years to form, and mining could unleash noise, light and suffocating dust storms. — The Associated Press ;