Downtown restaurant owners hit by serial arsonist plan to reopen with better security

A serial arsonist and a downtown core that’s perceived as increasingly unsafe is not deterring businesses from starting anew in 2026.

Several business owners of establishments were hit by fire in a string of arsons last year are committed to reopening their doors once insurance claims are settled and renovations are done, with several security enhancements added.

Jesse Wheatland, who is accused of 22 arson, break-in, and property-damage offences at 11 locations, including the Exchange Event Centre, Commonwealth and Boujee Restaurant & Bar, remains in custody and has not applied for bail. His next court date is March 13.

The Exchange Event Centre music venue at 111 Princess St. was gutted by fire in August and the building was deemed a total loss.

Owner Greg Bechard is already in the process of securing a new location, and is hoping to reopen by year’s end.

Bechard says the venue likely would have survived the initial arson, but there were multiple smaller fires and break-ins in the aftermath.

“Unfortunately, we were at a total loss in that space. But the Exchange Event Centre will be back in the city,” Bechard said Friday.

While the new location is still under wraps, Bechard said it will have fewer front-facing windows that could be smashed and a good security system.

The owner of Commonwealth Kitchen and Bar on Main Street between Bannatyne and McDermot avenues is also hoping to reopen the doors in the next three to four months after needed repairs; the restaurant’s sprinkler system damaged its interior after a Molotov cocktail was thrown through the window in July.

“At this point, we’ve just kind of accepted that happened, and we’re just doing whatever we can to make sure that we could reopen and can be the same restaurant that we were before,” Nikola Maharajh said.

Prior to the incident, Commonwealth employed security guards to monitor the restaurant’s entrance and provide safe walks for guests. This time around, Maharajh says he’ll be buying better security cameras with brighter lights for the building’s exterior.

Amit Saini, co-owner of Boujee Restaurant & Bar at Main Street and York Avenue, has previously said he, too, plans to reopen after the restaurant was hit by arson in October.

Despite the incident, as well as challenges with increasing crime impacting downtown, Bechard and Maharajh say they want to remain there.

“You see drug usage everywhere, you see garbage everywhere, you see broken windows and vacant buildings, and it just doesn’t really feel like a thriving downtown,” Maharajh said. “But we’ll give it a shot because the building we’re in is so beautiful and we want to be down there.”

La Roca, a Mexican restaurant and bar on Smith Street, was hit by fire in November but was able to remain open. Since the incident, owner Kishan Zalawadai said the bar has beefed up its surveillance to include 24-7 security camera monitoring.

Zalawadai believes the incidents have led to less foot traffic in the downtown area, but he’s committed to bringing patrons back to the area.

“We got lucky we could continue to operate, but I will work hard to get people back in downtown,” he said. “But I need better support from the government, too.”

The province recently launched a rebate program for small businesses to claim up to $2,500 to offset costs for purchasing security cameras and lights, as well as crime-related repairs, but Zalawadai says the program should cover such as smash-proof glass.

“When this kind of a scenario happens, it always starts from a window breaking, right? So let’s make it harder,” he said.

Shaun Jeffrey, executive director of the Manitoba Restaurant & Foodservices Association, says there is always more work to be done to improve safety for business owners but the rebate program is a step in the right direction.

Response to the government funding from business owners has been excellent and has instilled a sense of safety in the hospitality industry, Jeffrey said.

“When you take 50 restaurants in a 10-block radius, and you add 50 cameras between all of them, that’s making places safer,” he said.

And despite the arsons and other activity that might turn some away, Jeffrey says he’s seeing downtown continuing to attract businesses.

“The hospitality industry has definitely got some of the strongest, most dedicated, operators and entrepreneurs by far, and they’re going to move past this,” he said.

— With files from Dean Pritchard

nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca