‘They don’t come in’: Dewdney Avenue construction impacting sales at Regina businesses

Businesses in Regina’s warehouse district are reaching the end of a 'challenging summer.' The Dewdney Avenue corridor revitalization project while necessary, has taken a toll.

Dewdney Avenue has been under construction since April and while the end result will be a revamped and revitalized area, construction crews are digging holes in pocketbooks as well as underground.

“We didn’t think it was that bad at the start of construction, but you don’t get those summer sales back,” Rebellion Brewing owner Mark Heise said.

Heise said a lack of sales are due, in large part, to poor signage and visibility. He said many people think Dewdney is closed altogether when in reality, all the businesses are waiting for customers to stroll in.

“For the last seven weeks, we were completely shut off from any street access,” he said. “We started to see our sales dip.”

Just down the street from Rebellion is Rooted Living Designs. They say they have also felt the impact of construction.

“People just don’t see us,” Rooted Living Designs owner Tyler Poloway said. “They don’t think about us and they don’t come in.”

With limited access to his shop, Poloway said he has relied on external business to fill the pot.

“(Doing) workshops outside of the shop or pivoting to doing big office functions,” he explained. “We have a big one coming up that’s 60-70 people, so those things help push through sales and pay rent.”