Heading south The Haberdashery uproots from Exchange, hopes to turn heads on South Osborne By: Gabrielle Piché Posted: 6:34 PM CDT Tuesday, Aug. 22, 2023

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This article was published 22/08/2023 (1107 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There are plenty of hats, but not enough heads to fill them.

The Haberdashery, which set up in the Exchange District roughly 15 years ago, is uprooting because foot traffic hasn’t returned after it plummeted during the pandemic.

“If the traffic was here, I would’ve easily stayed and been happy to stay,” said Luke Nolan, who owns the shop at 84 Albert St. that also sells ties, scarves, gloves, buckles and sunglasses.

Instead, he’s decided to leave the Exchange at the end of September and move to a location in South Osborne as of Oct. 1.

“(It) just hasn’t been the same since COVID,” said Nolan as he stood near his shop counter. Behind him, a photo timeline, made by his daughter, illustrates the Haberdashery’s 20 years in business.

On the far left, above a note marking “2003 – 2005,” a picture displays a tiny kiosk populated with hats in St. Vital Centre.

There was the move to Corydon Avenue — another timeline picture labelled 2005 — and the transfer to the “really up and coming” Exchange District.

“There (were) a lot of shops opening (at the time),” Nolan said.

He watched the historic district grow: restaurants had lineups and the business crowd was consistent during lunch and after work.

Olaf Pyttlik, who has operated Across the Board Game Café in the district for nearly a decade, said business has dropped.

“By the time the pandemic hit, my observation was that it was… a really vibrant neighbourhood. I believe… (the pandemic) put a stop to that.”

Nolan echoed his peer, saying the pandemic “did a number in the area.”

On Tuesday, the Haberdashery was surrounded by several vacant shops on the same block. Boutique Anya was the latest to leave.

“(Traffic is) coming back, it’s just very different,” Nolan said. “I like this place, it’s just not producing like I want it to… and I’m here six days a week. It’s not like I’m not putting in the time.”

Last year, he covered the cost of a couple of break-ins that resulted in nearly $1,000 worth of product being stolen and the storefront being damaged. There’s been no crime this year.

“Two blocks away, there’s encampments,” Nolan said. “It’s sad and my heart goes out to them, but it scares people from coming downtown and the Exchange.”

Finding a parking spot downtown, and then paying for it, also keeps customers away, Nolan said.

On the other hand, South Osborne has free parking — right in front of Nolan’s new shop.

He was walking in the area this summer and spotted a “for lease” sign.

“(I) called the number right away, on a Sunday,” Nolan described. “Before I signed the lease, I (was) kind of queasy and feeling (like) ‘Oh no, what am I doing?’

“I’m kind of institutionalized… (it’s) bittersweet to leave.”

His Exchange District hub has welcomed celebrities, film crews and decades-long customers. There’s a sense of community in the area, Nolan said.

He plans to recreate the interior of his shop — with light taupe walls and records in the back — at 694 Osborne St.

“People will see the sign, bare minimum,” Nolan said, adding plenty of people walk and drive down Osborne Street daily.

Many shops have opened and closed during Rod Sasaki’s tenure in the Exchange District. He’s operated Warehouse Artworks off McDermot Avenue since 1988.

“I understand why (Nolan is) going down to that area,” Sasaki said about South Osborne. “It’s beyond up and coming — it’s happening.”

The Haberdashery was a diverse offering and “definitely a positive” in the Exchange District, Sasaki said.

It had become a destination — somewhere customers planned to visit — instead of attracting people who were walking around shopping, Nolan said.

Warehouse Artworks is a destination, as is Across the Board Game Café, their owners said.

“Before I signed the lease, I (was) kind of queasy and feeling (like) ‘Oh no, what am I doing?’”–Luke Nolan

Pyttlik walks around the Exchange daily, travelling between his café and the audio production studio he operates nearby.

“A lot of people have not moved to work back downtown,” Pyttlik noted. “With that comes the challenges of just not having as many customers.”

Across the Board is still busy, as is Warehouse Artworks, both owners said. Business has improved compared to pandemic years, but it lags behind 2019 and earlier.

Roughly two-thirds of 70,000 downtown workers have returned to the office on a full- or part-time basis, Downtown Winnipeg BIZ said in May.

“The Exchange is certainly worth something to see and to preserve, and something I think Winnipeggers should be proud of,” Pyttlik said. “(It) would be a real shame to not rediscover (it) and bring (it) back to life.”

Recent summer festivals have seemed quieter than in years past, he said.

“A lot of people have not moved to work back downtown.”–Olaf Pyttlik

Devin Nelissen, general manager of the Amsterdam Tea Room, said there’s “definitely some optimism and some hope.”

The Exchange District BIZ’s historical walking tours attract customers; business and tourist crowds are increasing at the restaurant, and new shops have opened since the pandemic hit, Nelissen said.

He hopes Market Lands, a 10-storey housing development at Princess Street and William Avenue, near Red River College Polytechnic, will invigorate the area once it opens. Construction has yet to begin.

Neither the BIZ nor Coun. Vivian Santos, who represents the area, responded to interview requests. In June, the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ tracked 176,000 visitors daily, up roughly 28 per cent from June 2022.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com