Summer debut of Open Corydon

More patio space, live music and pizza slices to-go are slated for Corydon Avenue this summer — but cars aren’t invited.

Only on Sundays, starting July 5, Corydon will be closed to vehicles between Daly and Lilac streets from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Taking up the road and sidewalks, Winnipeg organizers hope, will be pedestrians and businesses showcasing their wares.

It’s a first-of-its-kind initiative for the Corydon Avenue Business Improvement Zone. Open Corydon, as it’s called, is set to run until Sept. 6.

“The winters are so dark here. Having fun, summer things to do is the best part about being here,” said Brodie Young, a Corydon Avenue BIZ board member.

“Hopefully, it’ll be a great thing for all the businesses, and Corydon in general.”

At least 15 businesses will participate during the first Sunday. Entrepreneurs are considering how they’ll change their operations.

If business is good, Wingz Bar and Lounge might add patio seats.

The basement eatery opened five months ago. It has three outdoor tables on ground level. It lacks the funds to expand, but if there’s patio demand, “then we’re going to do something about it,” said manager Umair Khatri.

Wingz chose 725 Corydon Ave. because the Little Italy strip is busy. Khatri worries the vehicle diversion will stunt business.

“Where will the cars park?” he said.

It’s not a concern for Heather Wasson, a Honey Bunny Pastry Shop employee. The bakery plans to increase its Sunday staff, anticipating more walk-in traffic.

Customers will likely hear live music as they trek the four-block strip. A shuttle will run continuously between Confusion Corner and Stafford Street, taking Daly Street and Jessie Avenue.

The local BIZ tapped Ugly Duckling Productions to lead Open Corydon. It got a use of streets permit from the City of Winnipeg.

Honey Bunny’s customers are often pedestrians, Wasson said, adding there’s limited street parking in front of the Corydon Avenue shop.

“I think it’s kind of cool to make it more walkable, (to) properly do almost a market of small stores,” Wasson said. Honey Bunny may set up a patio this summer, she added.

Nearby, Tommy’s Pizzeria is preparing to sell pizza by the slice through a window facing Corydon.

“It could be really fun for people to walk down the street with pizza,” said owner Thomas Schneider.

He’s sold individual slices in the past, though it’s been years since the last time.

Restarting has coincidentally aligned with Open Corydon. Staffing up to meet Sunday demand will be intentional, Schneider said.

“I’m just excited to see what could happen,” he added. “Bringing some life back to Corydon. It’s kind of slowed down a little bit over the years.”

There’s been a noticeable drop since the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

Open Corydon follows a dismal start to patio season. Cold temperatures lingered into spring; June has brought torrential rain.

“Every time we lose a week of weather in our industry, it’s major,” said Shaun Jeffrey, executive director of the Manitoba Restaurant & Foodservices Association. Open Corydon comes at a “great time,” he added.

It’ll be weather-dependent — the BIZ will likely cancel on rainy weekends, Young said.

The new venture has been in the works for a while, he said. Longer stretches of Corydon Avenue have closed to vehicles, in the past, for events.

“I think you’ll get the whole neighbourhood out,” said Gerald Buchan, who’s lived in the area for 18 years. “(These are) great things to get people from the neighbourhood to come out.”

Corydon residents may be inconvenienced, however, Jeffrey noted.

Signs will be placed around the road closure, telling motorists to use Stafford Street to Grant Avenue to Pembina Highway as an alternate path.

Winnipeg Transit line D19 Corydon will also be rerouted. The city will provide detour information on Transit’s website in coming weeks, a spokesperson said.

The number of businesses directly impacted by Open Corydon wasn’t available by end of day Friday.

“We have a lot to offer as a small city,” said Danielle Fontaine Koslowsky, an employee at A Little Art Boutique, which is on the strip.

“(It) helps to funnel some of that energy into a specific day, to kind of help people remember that we do … have a lot that you can explore here.”

Winnipeg has seasonal bike routes with vehicle barricades along stretches of Wellington Crescent and Churchill, Lyndale and Kilkenny/Kings drives.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com