When Todd Janes talks about the businesses that line Stony Plain Road, he uses the word “fight” a heck of a lot.
As we chat at the Ch. Cafeteria near the corner of 149th Street and Stony Plain Road, an area filled with concrete barricades and orange fencing, the executive director of the Stony Plain Road Business Association admits the delayed construction of the LRT’s western extension has been difficult. Businesses are cut off from the street. There are “for lease” signs throughout the area that the BIA covers, from 140th Street to 170th Street.
“I think this is the area where council decided this is the route the Valley Line will take. Council initiated that. Council didn’t manage the project well. It’s a shitshow,” Janes says.
So, while other neighbourhoods, from Downtown to Alberta Avenue, have hosted their own dining weeks, the Oct. 3-12 edition that will be held on Stony Plain Road will feel different. It will be about more than simply dining out. It’s about a community uniting when it’s taken body blow after body blow.
“Our businesses are still fighting,” he says. “And my organization is here to help them fight. Dining Week is part of it. This is our first time. We have a lot of great restaurants. And, in the last five years, we’ve seen this area add a lot of great restaurants.
“We did a curation this year, we’re looking at about 20 restaurants in total.”
There will be grab-and-go lunch menus and more formal dinner specials offered at the participating restaurants, which will include independents like The Tasty Tomato (“the yummiest pasta you’ll ever have at a former KFC” Janes jokes) and chains such as Joey’s and Earl’s.
“We wanted a mix of ‘here are new things’ and ‘here are things that are a bit more adventurous,’” says Janes.
There will also be a contest where restaurant goers can scan a code and get taken to a Google form to let the BIA know what you ate. A winner will be picked from these respondents, and will get a $250 gift card.
Janes says he is still disappointed that council defeated Andrew Knack’s push to have businesses receive tax breaks when impacted by delayed construction. And he feels that council has focused spending on areas such as downtown and Chinatown, while Stony Plain Road has been left on its own to deal with the construction mess. He says the future is bright; the LRT will bring density, new construction and the area is surrounded by affluent neighbourhoods. But, for the short-term, the struggle is to try and convince potential customers and diners to brave the construction mess.
“It needs a lot of love, says Janes. “Let’s be honest, this is an area that’s been neglected for a lot of time. This was a big commercial hub at one point in time… But we have a lot of great businesses that are tenacious and have stuck around for a long time.”
Stony Plain Road Dining Week doesn’t kick off till Oct. 3, but you can start making plans today.
