By Siobhan Byrne
Martinis and olives, crème brûlée, a mix of modern and classic decor and a little jazz music.
No, this isn’t the menu du jour or the atmospheric impressions of a trendy New York bistro. They are part of a few changes around Centretown as businesses try to keep up with a hipper sort of crowd.
With the help of a city determined to develop and boosted by recent demographic shifts, Centretown is promising a night life revival.
Walking down Elgin Street on any given weekend, one cannot help but notice the people packing into Griffin’s — a haven for urbanite folks, between the ages of 25 and 40, looking for a stylish meal or an evening drink.
Bob Abraham, one of Griffin’s owners, says they did not do a formal market analysis before opening six months ago.
However, he says they have a strong base of local clientele and customers coming from across Ottawa.
“It’s the concept, the atmosphere that we have going for us here,” says Abraham.
Although Elgin Street has been hitting this age demographic for over a decade, the new addition of Griffin’s to Elgin Street’s night life is not unlike other changes in Centretown.
With the recent addition of Zaphod Beeblebrox 2 and the Babylon at Gilmour Street, the chic new Cafe Paradiso at 199 Bank St. and a few new cafes, Bank Street is becoming an alternative to the already established night life offered on Elgin Street.
Alex Demianenko, owner of Cafe Paradiso on Bank Street, opened his restaurant about a year ago.
With its modern design and trendy fare, Cafe Paradiso caters to the 25 to 55-year-old age bracket while focussing on business from the neighbourhood.
“I like the location,” says Demianenko. “It has one foot in the business district for lunches and the other foot in the rapidly changing Centretown neighbourhood.”
He says over the last few years Bank Street has been changing because the neighbourhood has been changing. With new upscale residential units being built, Bank Street is becoming a more viable business area.
“It gives people who are west of Elgin Street a different option for a night out as opposed to going down to Elgin Street,” says Demianenko.
Ottawa city councillor Elisabeth Arnold says part of the city’s goal is to promote more residential development within Centretown and downtown communities as a whole.
With the recently built town homes along Kent Street and new loft homes being built like the ones on Argyle Avenue, the area can expect a new consumer base.
Arnold says such development supports local services, retail and entertainment.
“Having more people living downtown is the number one priority because it gives a sense of stability, a sense of commitment and a sense of people who think this is a good place to be on a permanent basis,” says Arnold.
Although she says she has not seen a study that links the new housing development in the downtown core to the business community, she does think they are connected.
“When people see new activity happening, whether it’s residential development or new businesses coming in, then they become more comfortable with investing,” says Arnold.
Arnold calls it a “chicken and egg” scenario with a positive outcome.
Eugene Haslam, owner of Zaphod Beeblebrox in the Market and the new Zaphod Beeblebrox 2 on Bank Street, says his new club is not targeted at any particular demographic.
He says there is not a revival on Bank Street, rather the Ottawa night life has traditionally been spread across a wide area.
“Ultimately, when you are trying to build a nightclub there is not a lot of space,” says Haslam.
He says the people that go to his club reflect whatever band happens to be playing there on a particular night. Haslam calls Zaphod Beeblebrox 2 “a pretty broad-based kind of club.”
However, Haslam says any vibrant city needs a populated core. Business is good when a city has a mixture of people downtown.
Arnold says the changes in the downtown core began about five years ago when the city started to see the results of former Ottawa mayor Jacquelin Holzman’s Redo-It-Plan. The city began helping to kick start some residential developments that are still continuing today.
Arnold anticipates even more changes in Centretown in the next five years .
“I’d like to see less empty lots and more buildings,” says Arnold. “Hopefully mixed use buildings — commercial with other uses including residential. As well, fewer empty store fronts with more variety of uses on the street.”
She also says she would like to see more residential development behind the Bank Street corridor and fewer surface parking lots.
Although there is change, Arnold says it has been slow and she would like to see the momentum increase.
Scott and Barbra Colvin, who bought one of the new townhouses at Kent Street and Lisgar Street in 1996, are an example of the new people moving into the Centretown area.
The Colvin’s, in their mid-20s, say many of their neighbours in the new development are young couples.
Scott Colvin calls himself and his wife the “biggest DINKS around.” DINKS, the 1990s version of the yuppie (young urban professional), means double income no kids.
Both Scott and Barbra work at Nortel but they prefer to live downtown because they like the convenience of walking to a restaurant or bar.
They say that this is a convenience that some of their neighbours also enjoy.
Centretown residents and business owners will have to wait to see the impact of the new housing developments and the city’s revitalization plans.
However, Demianenko from Cafe Paradiso says change is already happening.
He calls Bank Street “the last great street downtown.”