Reviving the rundown

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By  Michelle Laramie

The Downtown Windsor Business Improvement Association and family businesses are looking to turn Chatham Street into a tourist destination.

With the recent purchases of buildings on Chatham Street by Toronto-based entrepreneur Henry Tam Windsor’s downtown core is buzzing with speculations on the changes that will be made.
Chatham Street Deli owner Sandro Giustine and his wife Melanie said they are are hoping to see downtown and Chatham Street revitalized into a family destination.
When they opened their deli in November of last year they saw the growth of the university campuses near Chatham Street and knew the timing was right. Now, things are starting to come to fruition.
Giustine said he is confident in the quality of his food and family-comfortable atmosphere his restaurant offers. They welcome any new businesses to the downtown core.
“It’s hard to get people to walk by four or five empty stores to get to one that is open,” said Giustine. “The more people down here, the better the atmosphere, which attracts more business and more people.”
Giustine said he feels there has to be more events to get families in and walking around the downtown area. “Our very first customers were from the Windsor International Film Festival and it has become such a busy and exciting time for us,” he said. He also said in order to attract more people the downtown core has to become a tourist destination.
The DWBIA feels the same passion about revitalizing downtown and sees the purchase of the old fish market building as a big step in making that happen. Executive Director of the DWBIA Debi Croucher said that if Henry Tam does what he said he is going to by offering a high end grocer and social gathering place, it will become an anchor for Chatham Street. Many businesses will spin off from it. She said she sees the importance of the events that are held downtown.
“Next year we will have a sporting event, a hockey tournament with 130 teams from all over the world the first week in April staying in the city centre,” said Croucher. She also said that once Windsor is viewed as a tourist destination more groups of people will come. She said she is looking forward to all of the new development. “I would love to see our drama students busking in the streets, our music students playing in restaurants on their lunchbreak and our visual arts students selling their work.”
Croucher hopes in five years Windsor has the feel of downtown Montreal and attracts visitors from everywhere to enjoy. “I would love to see the vibrancy downtown. We have so much talent in our city,” she said.