Victim of LRT construction, Richmond restaurant closes

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When Lorenzo’s Bar & Grill opened in 2018, Friday nights were so busy that people were turned away at the door. When COVID-19 hit, customers regularly came by in groups to do curbside pickup.

Owner Gillian Danby would have been forgiven for thinking her restaurant could survive anything. But then again, she never predicted the negative impact LRT construction would have on their business, which shuttered earlier this year.

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The downfall, Danby says, is the result of construction of the LRT extension in the west end, which turned their once-accessible Richmond Road location into a confusing maze for customers to get to, or even find, nestled in a strip mall.

“We knew it was a good decision (to close),” Danby says as she and her husband, Sam, finished packing up the restaurant. “We were fortunate enough … that our lease came up and that was it, and we said, ‘No more of this.’”

The construction of the LRT right outside the strip mall deterred customers, she says.

The large divider in the middle of the street makes it hard for drivers to see around them, let alone any of the shops’ signage on the other side.

And, if a driver goes too far, it’s a confusing detour to turn around and find the plaza again.

If you didn’t know where you were going, it would be very easy to miss the stores at 991 Richmond Rd. (It took Citizen reporter several attempts to make it to the plaza, even with the understanding it was a confusing entrance.)

There are ripple effects, too. Danby says she brought in a lot of business to adjoining establishments. She got her arrangements from Flowers by Maggie, located next to Lorenzo’s. Customers would go next door after meals to buy some flowers.

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Maggie Freitas, the flower shop’s owner, says she cried when she heard Lorenzo’s would be closing down. She feels like she could be next. “I don’t feel safe,” Freitas says. Being between two other businesses made her feel secure, as there was always someone around, she adds.

“We’re like family,” Danby says of the area. “It’s not just a business.”

Both of them are unsure of the future of the other businesses, but both say that, if the city doesn’t step up, more will be forced to close.

Alaa Kiki only opened his store, Kiki’s Barber Shop, a few months before construction began. Both Freitas and Kiki say they were given only a few days’ notice before construction began.

“Every day we cry, every day no one listens to us,” Kiki says of the situation.

He said the construction company promised to give the area signage so that people would still know their stores were there. “They promised us to put (up) a nice sign. They promised us to do a lot of things.”

Both expressed frustration that no work has been done since just before Christmas, leaving one entrance off Richmond Road shuttered for months.

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“The reinstatement of the third entrance cannot be completed in the winter months due to weather conditions, and we provided advance notice to ensure merchants were aware,” city spokesperson Katrina Camposarcone-Stubbs said in a statement. She added the city would look in the spring at what could be done to re-open the entrance. “Our team is taking every step possible to reduce the impact on businesses and residents.”

The city and the contractor KEV said they were reducing the inconvenience by having access to the plaza remain open, offering advertising support and knocking on doors to understand what concerns those affected might have. They’re also sending updates to Google Maps to ensure people could still easily find the area.

Back outside Lorenzo’s, Danby says the decision to close was hard, but she felt relief when she made it. “That’s our blood and sweat, but at the same time we gotta be able to survive.”

While she and her husband will be opening a new location on Greenbank, it will take a while to finalize. “We’ve (got) an eye on a space that we’re going to look at, and we have a bit of a hiatus because we can’t open the space for a bit.”

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