Chain restaurants don’t do that well in the West End. One year, back in the 1980s, about five closed down on Denman alone – from a ‘Famous Amos Cookies’ to a Burger King. (We’ll see if the current iteration in Denman Mall survives.)
Here’s another indication – the closure of a Dairy Queen (in what was once a bank) near the corner of Denman and Robson.
It happened suddenly a few weeks ago, and there has been no ‘for lease’ sign posted. So presumably a ‘higher and better’ use will replace it. And it will be some kind of indicator when we see what that will be.
Rather sadly, across the intersection, another business closed – Punto Pasta. But this was no chain. Operated by some Italian immigrants, they were making pasta on site, providing the real thing with the accents to match.
Most likely, they couldn’t sustain such a small local operation where the property taxes alone are brutal, or more optimistically perhaps they found a more affordable location. (Yeah, right.)
The issue with business sustainability in the West End is the relatively low incomes of of West residents as opposed to Yaletown & Coal Harbour.