Downtown Ottawa businesses pivot as federal office towers remain empty

Local business owners in downtown Ottawa, who have relied for years on the traffic from federal government workers, are finding themselves planning for a future without them.

Ninety per cent of Ottawa residents have at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, stadiums are packed, restaurants are open to full capacity, but in downtown Ottawa, many offices remain empty because the city’s largest workforce is still working remotely.

The lunch hour used to be the time when Amir Rahid and the staff at Grounded Kitchen & Coffeehouse prepared for the rush of thousands of federal public servants pouring out of nearby office towers in search of a snack or a meal.

That was then.

“I feel it’s more important to look at what we’re dealing with here and now,” says Rahid. “The past year, we’ve worked pretty hard on our new model which is more evenings, nights, a cool BBQ menu, a vibrant bar scene, stuff like that.”