Victoria Downtown

Street Chaos plays a role in closing of restaurant.

From Times Colonist, August 28, 2007

By Rob Shaw

Owner cites “mayhem and weirdness” in letter to business colleagues

The owner of a downtown Victoria restaurant has closed shop, blaming, in part, the “mayhem and weirdness” of the downtown core and the “human misery” of the City’s street population.

The Queen Mother Waterside Café, located on Swift Street near Store Street, closed its doors July 29, according to a notice on its website.

But an Aug.22 letter from owner Andrew Rosenbaum to business colleagues is making waves in the business community for its blunt analysis of the city’s social woes and a warning that ‘something has to be done other than hand wringing” or the downtown core will “wither and die and become but a mirror of the inhabitants that have taken it over.”

The Queen Mother was located steps away from the 95-bed Streetlink Emergency Shelter, in a part of the city known for large gatherings of street people and open drug use.

“Our customers felt that they had braved incredible obstacles of human misery and degeneracy to support our restaurant” Rosenbaum’s letter reads.

“Many of them paid with real inconvenience for their patronage. Quite a few had their cars broken into while dining here. Others, complained of running the gauntlet of injections, defecation, fights and ‘wired’ insane behavior on their way over.”

Rosebaum and his wife Kelly St. John opened the Queen Mother in June 2005, in a 5,000-ft. square area they bought out of bankruptcy in the Mermaid Wharf condo development beside Streetlink. The site had seen two previous business failures. Nevertheless, the couple spent more than $300.000 on improvements.

Rosenbaum’s letter says the downtown social issues were a significant factor in the closing. He did not elaborate, and couldn’t be reached for comment yesterday.

The couple are considered experienced business owners. Rosenbaum opened the Queen Mother Café in Toronto in 1978 and it still operates today. He and two partners also own Rivoli, a large restaurant, pool hall and bar complex in Toronto.

The Queen Mother was in direct competition with the nearby Canoe Brewpub. Yet Canoe has doubled its growth in the past five years despite the homeless situation, said assistant general manager Sean Sloat.

“We haven’t experienced any of our guests coming to us with those kinds of concerns,” he said of Rosenbaum’s letter. The Canoe Brewpub has had the advantage of being there since 1998, he said. Sloat called the closing of the Queen Mother unfortunate.

Another neighbouring business, Chintz & Company, said the closing was a worrisome sign for the area. “I call the police on a regular basis once or twice a day” said manager Diana Henderson, who said she has lost employees because of the conditions.

Recommendations on improving the city’s troubled core are expected next month as part of Mayor Alan Lowe’s downtown task force. Meanwhile, Victoria police have extra officers downtown as part of a summer pilot program to combat safety fears.

“We’re trying to be proactive and move people along and not let them sleep there, but where do we send them?” asked Sgt. Grant Hamilton.

The Queen Mother is another reminder the downtown needs help and resources from outlying municipalities to deal with social issues that affect everyone, said Downtown Victoria Business Association general manager Ken Kelly.

“Regrettably, we do have the closure of businesses as a result of the street issues we find in our downtown,” he said. “Unfortunately, that is the harsh reality of doing business here in Victoria.”

“we have lost a good business down there,” added Bruce Carter, CEO of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce. “I certainly recognize a number of the challenges Rosenbaum talks about.”

The city’s social situation also hurts employees and the local tax base, Rosenbaum writes in his letter. ”It is critical that this City understand that it cannot sacrifice its active and engaged citizens and businesses to the mayhem of those that have turned their backs on the social contract. The drowning cannot be allowed to take down the swimmers.”