Core chaos shuts eatery’s doors

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This article was published 23/07/2010 (5581 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It wasn’t the 72-hour work weeks that made Raven ThunderSky and her partner close their busy downtown diner. It was the danger caused by all the drinking and drugs on the doorstep of the Kraut King that did them in, she said.

"If you were to come and sit at one of the chairs at the restaurant, you have a full view of Garry Street," she said of the diner tucked under the Garry Street parkade. "You’ll see people passed out at the benches… quite often you’ll see a group hovering together drinking."

On the eve of the restaurant’s final day, the Kraut King co-owner cited a litany of horrors that has become routine around the lunch counter south of Portage Avenue: "Crazy drunks challenging people to hit them with their cars. A young girl, about 14, drives a big van up the (down) ramp" of the parkade, a roaring, incoherent woman tries to force her way inside their restaurant at lunchtime. Fights in front of the business are frequent, as well as people passed out, she said.

"In the winter, it isn’t too bad. After the snow started to melt, then it was bad."

ThunderSky thinks the social problems that plagued Main Street have moved around the corner to Portage Avenue.

"People do not feel safe coming here," she said. And she doesn’t blame them. Last summer, her partner and co-owner John Kreuzeder was assaulted in front of the diner, she said. He was punched in the ear by a stranger without warning, she said.

To add insult to injury, Kreuzeder now has financial issues to deal with unrelated to the business. He said he and his ex-wife had a joint account and line of credit that she cleaned out before leaving the country. The court ordered him this week to pay the bank $41,202.89.

"Indirectly it affects my business," he said. Kreuzeder said he’s hoping to open another restaurant in the spring. "We’ll look for a nice, safe place."

Kraut King regular Evan Macdonald, who works downtown, is sad to see the place close, but understands why.

"It’s becoming an issue," he said, waiting in line Thursday for his favourite schnitzel. He doesn’t think more police or security personnel will the solve the problem of panhandlers and intoxicated people. "That seems reactive. To help, you need to address the issues."

ThunderSky wants aboriginal and civic leaders and the citizens of Winnipeg to work together to find a solution.

"If you see what I see, 85 per cent of the people here causing the trouble are aboriginal," said ThunderSky, who grew up on the Poplar River First Nation.

"The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, you need to deal with your people," said the woman, who has three kids under 18 living at home.

"There comes a time when you have to take a stand… they’re supposed to come up with solutions," she said.

The Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs did not respond to a request for comment late Thursday afternoon.

The Downtown BIZ says it’s battling expanding social ills, and the Kraut King is situated right on the front lines.

"It’s safe to say that’s one of the more challenging areas in our downtown," said Stefano Grande, BIZ executive director. "There are a series of single-room-occupancy hotels frequented by people who have some social challenges."

The Kraut King is flanked by the Garrick Hotel next door and the Vendome and St. Regis hotels, each a block away.

The Downtown BIZ Outreach program is working with police "to manage the issue" and get intoxicated people safely off the streets, said Grande. The problem is there are more social challenges today than 10 years ago, and "we’re just one player."

The long-term solution, said Grande, is to help more people with mental health issues who often battle addictions and risky public intoxication. There needs to be five or six more "housing-first" programs like the one at the Bell Hotel on Main Street, he said. The federally and provincially funded 40-unit project is for homeless people with mental health and/or addictions issues. It’s not for everyone, though, said Grande.

"Those that don’t need help and continue to wreak havoc — that’s where Outreach and police need to remain vigilant."

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca