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The fenced-off construction site outside Don\u2019Ya Ukraine\u2019s Kitchen in downtown Edmonton, July 21, 2026. (CityNews)<\/p>\nImagine throwing a party and no one shows up.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s exactly what happened to downtown Edmonton restaurant Don\u2019ya Ukraine\u2019s Kitchen.<\/p>\n
Its free Zumba class scheduled for this past Sunday saw nobody attend, despite invites being sent to 13,000 people, with several even registering for the class.<\/p>\n
\u201cDowntown isn\u2019t always easy,\u201d the restaurant wrote on social media Monday. \u201cYesterday, we showed up, set everything up, and waited\u2026 but no one came.<\/p>\n
\u201cOf course it\u2019s disappointing. But if there\u2019s one thing we\u2019ve learned over the past few years, it\u2019s that building community means showing up \u2014 even when it\u2019s hard.\u201d<\/p>\n
Don\u2019ya tried again, rescheduling the class for Tuesday. This time, a few people showed up.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs long as we can, we\u2019ll try,\u201d restaurant co-founder Janice Krissa told CityNews. \u201cWe\u2019d love to see our customers happy, and we\u2019d love to see this thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Krissa says \u201cit\u2019s really tough to do business\u201d in downtown Edmonton. And she\u2019s hardly the only one who feels that way.<\/p>\n
Several downtown businesses have decided to close their doors this summer, with many of them citing lengthy construction woes and reduced foot traffic as partly to blame.<\/p>\n
Greta, known for its arcade games and Edmonton Oilers watch parties, is the latest to pull out of downtown. Restaurants PlayWright, Kommune Caf\u00e9, and Khazana also decided to close for good.<\/p>\n
Krissa says construction outside her front door led to her sales being cut in half.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat really hurts,\u201d she said. \u201cThen we started to see other businesses close, and that was very concerning. They\u2019re our mentors, they\u2019re who we\u2019re learning (from), we\u2019re the new kid on the block. And when we\u2019re seeing big names like Greta closing down, we have to pay attention.\u201d<\/p>\n
The fenced-off construction site outside Don\u2019Ya Ukraine\u2019s Kitchen in downtown Edmonton, July 21, 2026. (CityNews)<\/p>\n
Downtown councillor Anne Stevenson admits city council could do more when it comes to safety and vibrancy. She says this month, council did ask administration for a business-friendly construction policy to make business owners\u2019 pain more manageable, and worth the long-term gain, without hiking up property taxes.<\/p>\n
\u201cPaid parking and patio fees, that is part of the strategy to reduce pressure on property taxes, but at the same time, it can have an impact on businesses in other ways,\u201d the Ward O-day\u2019min councillor said. \u201cI think what\u2019s critically important is we\u2019re making those investments through our downtown action plan to support businesses and bring Edmontonians to the core.\u201d<\/p>\n
That leaves Krissa hoping for relief sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s only so long that we can survive, right?\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s not about how long we want to. If I could, I\u2019d stay here forever. But at the end of the day, we have to pay our staff, we have to pay our rent, we have to pay our bills, and the food costs are very high.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/DonYa-Ukraines-Kitchen--e1784740936552.jpg\")
\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\tA temporary sign for Don’Ya Ukraine’s Kitchen in downtown Edmonton, attached to a metal fence. (CityNews) <\/p>\n
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