New owner shows faith in downtown eatery

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This article was published 01/09/2010 (5541 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A lunch-counter restaurant that owners abandoned in July complaining about downtown’s alcohol problems is back in business this week in the hands of a new entrepreneur.

Famena’s Famous Roti/Curry, a Caribbean restaurant, opened Monday in the Garry Street parkade location that used to house the Bavarian diner Kraut King, which closed down after its owners claimed drunks and drug addicts in the neighbourhood rendered the otherwise-thriving business impossible to run.

At the time, Kraut King partner Raven ThunderSky said customers did not feel safe visiting the restaurant and she didn’t blame them. There are three single-occupancy-room hotels in the immediate vicinity whose clientele includes people with addictions or other mental health issues.

But the proprietor of Famena’s said she does not think the area is as bad as it’s made out to be. And she would know, since she used to operate her business inside the nearby Garrick Hotel.

"When I told people about the place, they asked me how could I do better when the last owner complained about it. But I’ve been in the Garrick," said Famena Ally. "It’s not a bad area."

The Garrick closed its beer vendor this spring. But other downtown hotels have been accused of exacerbating the area’s problems by serving intoxicated people, both in their beverage rooms or through their vendors.

"If the hotels sold beer according to the rules, we wouldn’t have a problem," said Ally, who nonetheless is looking forward to slinging rotis, curries and other Guyanese dishes in her new Garry Street diner.

bartley.kives@freepress.mb.ca