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![\"MIKAELA](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4358060_web1_260702-Blazing-Chicken-Shack-00073.jpg\")
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMIKAELA MACKENZIE \/ FREE PRESS <\/p>\n
Eric Saniuk, owner of Blazing Chicken Shack on Graham Avenue, says pedestrian traffic has recently ticked up, but too many hindrances remain for local businesses to regain their footing.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could fire a cannon down Graham Avenue a lot of the time and not have to worry about any casualties,\u201d said Aimee Peake, owner of Bison Books.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s watched the walk-by traffic disintegrate since the City of Winnipeg rerouted buses off Graham last summer.<\/p>\n
At one point, the hub had 1,800 buses daily and thousands of travellers. Part of the stretch was reserved for buses.<\/p>\n
The strip now includes a \u201cpedestrian-first\u201d stretch \u2014 or no cars \u2014 between Carlton and Garry streets. Murals and picnic tables have been added.<\/p>\n
The road parallels Portage Avenue. It passes Cityplace and Winnipeg Police Service headquarters, and stops at the former Hudson\u2019s Bay Co. flagship store. Cars can travel on Graham close to the old Bay.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat corridor was designed with buses in mind, transit riders,\u201d said Andrew Van Seggelen, owner of Bodegoes Restaurants in Cityplace Winnipeg.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou have businesses down that stretch that fully relied on those customers being there daily, and they\u2019re getting shredded right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bodegoes still uses the reduced hours it launched during the COVID-19 pandemic. Van Seggelen said last week he\u2019d hoped to return to pre-pandemic hours, but the late afternoon and evening traffic isn\u2019t there.<\/p>\n
Outside, a Downtown Winnipeg Business Improvement Zone farmers market splashed across Graham Avenue. The event now sprawls the strip instead of being confined near Manitoba Hydro Place.<\/p>\n
Events are part of the short-term plan to draw people to the street, said Rochelle Squires, chief executive of CentreVenture Development Corp.<\/p>\n
The arm\u2019s-length city agency is mandated to revitalize Graham Avenue. Squires pointed to summer events, including a September food truck festival, Salsa Sundays and 2026 World Cup soccer watch parties.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know that it\u2019s going to take a lot more than a couple of events to truly and fully activate that space,\u201d Squires said.<\/p>\n
In the summer, CentreVenture plans to launch a program \u2014 alongside the city and province \u2014 to fund existing Graham Avenue businesses\u2019 enhancements, such as new patios and storefront displays.<\/p>\n
Money will be tabbed to recruit businesses to the area. Details will come later this season, Squires said. In the longer term, new housing and infrastructure should liven the strip, she said.<\/p>\n
A building along Graham Avenue \u2014 254 Edmonton St. \u2014 is under construction for 25 housing units. Work at the former Hudson\u2019s Bay, which could include more than 300 residences, is also underway.<\/p>\n
Public consultation to change the 142-year-old Holy Trinity Church will begin this summer, Squires said.<\/p>\n
Dade Williams is among the workers to welcome new spending. He estimates Aluminum Sound, which he manages, had a 50 per cent drop in customers this June compared to last.<\/p>\n
He has ordered giant window coverings to advertise Aluminum Sound\u2019s wares, in a bid to draw more people. He said he\u2019ll try to use program money to cover costs. However, it\u2019s wasted if nobody walks by, he said.<\/p>\n
The city placed a D19 bus stop at Vaughan Street post-overhaul, close to Graham Avenue. The change doesn\u2019t fix the problem, Williams said: people don\u2019t stop near the shops they used to.<\/p>\n
Resurrecting the old stop, at Vaughan Street and Graham Avenue, would help, Williams said. \u201cIt feels like they just don\u2019t care,\u201d he said of city council.<\/p>\n
The grants will come more than a year too late, Peake stated: \u201cThese things should\u2019ve been done before the buses were taken off.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, the funding is good to have \u2014 especially to attract new firms and bolster the strip\u2019s offerings, Peake said.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s been worried Bison Books\u2019 customer pool will diminish over time: it\u2019s not gaining new clientele off the street, and regular patrons visit downtown less due to headache-filled Transit trips.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just really frustrated from the lack of response from city hall,\u201d Peake said, noting new residential housing will take years to finish. \u201cThe pace of these reactions seems to be frustratingly slow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meantime, Winnipeg Transit estimates it could fall $18.4 million short of its budgeted revenue this year due to lower ridership. Transit uses seasonal schedule changes as an \u201copportunity\u201d improve its bus network, based on Winnipeg residents\u2019 feedback, Mayor Scott Gillingham said in a statement.<\/p>\n
Projects such as the redevelopment of Portage Place and the former Bay store will add people to downtown, he said, adding the D19 route brought service closer to Graham.<\/p>\n
After what had been a down year, walk-by traffic near Blazing Chicken Shack has actually increased over the past couple months, said owner Eric Saniuk.<\/p>\n
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However, in addition to a lack of buses, there have been other hindrances, he said \u2014 extensive road construction and outside vendors, such as food trucks, diverting customers during Graham Avenue events.<\/p>\n
Some shop owners \u2014 not including Blazing Chicken Shack \u2014 told the Free Press they were considering axing their Graham hubs.<\/p>\n
Many businesses on the strip are struggling, but some are doing fine \u2014 largely eateries, noted Olivia Billson, communications director for the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ. She said events were helping to build momentum in the area, but more needs to be done.<\/p>\n
Neither the city nor the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ had year-over-year foot traffic counts for Graham Avenue available on Friday.<\/p>\n
gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com<\/p>\n
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Gabrielle Pich\u00e9 Gabrielle Pich\u00e9 reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle<\/a>.<\/p>\n Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print \u2014 part of the Free Press\u2018s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press\u2019s history and mandate<\/a>, and learn how our newsroom operates<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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