The former home of Friday’s Roast Beef House is now up for lease after its sudden closure last month.
The Bank of Canada may have declared the recession over, but small businesses in Ottawa are nursing consumers’ hangover.
Even with modest economic growth over the summer months, unforeseen closures – the latest being Friday’s Roast Beef House on Elgin Street after 37 years – has Centretown business owners on their toes and rethinking their marketing strategies to keep customers walking through their doors.
“It’s not like it’s an on/off switch. It takes time for consumers to restart, to get going with their normal consumption,” says Michael Mulvey, an expert in marketing at the University of Ottawa.
When it comes to small luxuries such as dining out or getting a manicure, those who are still feeling the financial pinch will think twice.
“People who tend to go out tend to go out, but they’re not spending as much,” Mulvey says. He adds local offices have also cut back on hosting outside lunches and functions – an important source of revenue for restaurants.
Ken Dolan, the former owner of Friday’s Roast Beef House, told journalists the loss of business during the recession was one reason for the sudden closure.
According to media reports, the restaurant's business had been dropping since January.
“I was really shocked,” says Noel Dimar (aka Noel Dimaranan), Friday’s long-time pianist, when he suddenly learned Sept. 26 would be his last night. Dimar says weekday business had been very slow lately – only a handful of people would come to hear him play – but on weekends, he was still playing for large crowds.
“When people went to Friday’s, they had a good time,” he says, wondering what went wrong. Dimar has since found a new gig at VJ’s Lounge on Laurier Avenue.
But Mulvey says there is a silver lining to the lingering recession cloud: “You’ll see [those businesses] that are really service minded, really customer oriented, succeed.”
Local hair salons, for example, are doing surprisingly well, even though hair cuts and manicures are among the first small luxuries sacrificed when money is scarce.
“We really just tried to put our name out there a lot more,” says Alexa Saab, the manager of Saab Salon Spa on Bank Street.
A new interactive website, promotional packages and direct marketing have kept business going, even with the Bank Street construction scaring away pedestrian traffic – something many local business owners blame for the drop in sales, even more so than the economic downturn.
“The real trick to marketing your way through a recession is to be more attentive to the customer and savvy with your marketing,” Mulvey says. “It comes back to the concept of value.”
The slow down in day-to-day business can be a good time to do some renovating or touch ups. Saab Salon Spa is expanding into the store next door, the former home of Maison Baguettes ETC bakery, which closed last month.
“Somebody’s pain is somebody else’s gain,” Mulvey says of the way the recession has forced local businesses to switch up their tactics. “It’s not all dread and doom.”