Winnipeg considering waiving 6 months rent for some businesses

Some downtown Winnipeg businesses could be getting a break from paying rent.

This is because the City of Winnipeg is considering waiving six months of rent for eight businesses that rent space from the city. These businesses include Deals for Dollars, Thom Bargen Coffee and Tea, Seoul Nami Sushi, Kim Tuong Express, the Cutting Station, the Lottery Kiosk, and Subway.

The city is considering this rental waiver because fewer people have been working downtown during the pandemic, and therefore there have been fewer visitors at Winnipeg Square.

A city report noted that many retail tenants in city facilities are in “tenuous” financial positions, adding that there are four vacant spaces in the downtown walkway system.

Due to the drop in visitors, shop owners have seen a substantial decrease in business, with two business owners saying business has dropped by 30 per cent of the usual revenue.

The report says that requiring the tenants to pay full rent at a time when revenues are down could potentially lead to the bankruptcy of small businesses and vacancy issues for the city.

Brad Park, the owner of Seoul Nami Sushi, said getting a six-month break from rent would be helpful.

“The city is trying to get back to working again, so we can stay open,” he said in an interview on Wednesday.

“It will definitely give us a break.”

He said the last few years have been hard for the business, saying that a return to normalcy is not coming fast enough for downtown businesses.

The report also recommends the termination notice provision in the lease agreement with Seoul Nami Sushi be reduced from 275 to 30 days.

A city committee will review this recommendation on Monday.

The full report can be found online.