Fringe foot traffic gives Exchange shops boost

This year’s edition of the Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival has brought a rise in customer numbers, businesses in the Exchange District say, noting more events like it would also improve the area’s safety.

The increased foot traffic that accompanies the annual downtown event has Más Coffee Co. logging roughly 50 extra customers per day — “a huge increase,” said coffee shop employee Jay Koensgen.

“We’ll have our regulars come in, of course, but since then, Fringe has definitely boosted it.”

Koensgen said he thinks it would make a huge difference for businesses in the area if events like Fringe happened more often. “It’s just good for like economical stuff, environment, community bringing everyone together for a common cause would be really good.”

Meantime, Koensgen acknowledges there’s an element of being unsafe downtown in every city, but bringing more people into the area with public events would help Winnipeg break that stigma.

Clothing Bakery, across from Más in the same building, has had 15 to 20 extra people in the store every day since the alternative theatre festival started July 15, said Cholo Barachina, chief marketing officer for the store.

“There’s been a lot of increase in traffic from people from Grand Forks, North Dakota, and from different provinces as well, like Saskatchewan and Ontario, coming for Fringe,” he said.

Barachina said he, too, thinks more events bringing people downtown are needed and it would help customers feel more comfortable visiting the store.

“It would be a huge difference. There’s more foot traffic, and other people being more open to coming to downtown and exploring the Exchange,” he said, adding it would help people see downtown isn’t as bad as its reputation makes it out to be.

Habibiz Cafe on McDermot Avenue has noted a slight increase in customers the past week, co-owner Sammy Zeid said, but the numbers on the street make the area feel much safer.

“With a lot of people walking, even I feel safer,” he said.

Fringe-goer Kayden Lachance, 21, said she feels more comfortable coming to the Exchange District when events are going on.

“There’s a larger crowd of people, and everyone’s kind of there for the same thing,” she said, adding extra security that comes with events like Fringe or Winnipeg Jets games also helps.

Fringe has constantly been expanding its safety measure since it started in 1988, said Chuck McEwen, executive producer of the festival.

“Over the years, we’ve definitely enhanced the number of security services and options we’ve had for the Fringe festival,” said McEwen.

He said the Exchange District has gone through many transformations over the years, with added patrols and more housing in the area greatly increasing safety for people attending the event.

It also adjusted programming three years ago, moving the start time of final shows to 10 p.m. from 11 p.m., so people can leave before midnight.

The festival also has its own safety patrols that have grown over the years to up to nine security guards in the area from roughly 6 p.m. to 1 a.m.

The 12-day festival attracted 30,000 people to Old Market Square and sold 84,939 tickets for shows around downtown in 2025, the organization said in an email.

tiagoresko@freepress.mb.ca