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Posted May 19, 2026, 4:44 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Winnipeg, Manitoba
Posts: 8,557
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Originally Posted by pspeid
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Is the Village back? Some in Osborne say it never went away
Strip in 'upswing' as 100s of residential units built, at least 7 new shops to open: Osborne Village BIZ
Santiago Arias Orozco · CBC News · Posted: May 19, 2026
The number of businesses opening in Winnipeg's Osborne Village is outpacing those closing its doors, a sign for some that the neighbourhood is gaining momentum. (Trevor Brine/CBC)
Michael Hykawy, owner of Sierra, says he wants his new café and bar to help revitalize Osborne Village to its bustling past. (Santiago Arias Orozco/CBC)
Michael Hykawy remembers Osborne Village as a bustling neighbourhood, alive at night, where he used to "play the guitar for peanuts" at crowded bars.
"If you go back to the golden age … we used to get dropped off with nowhere to go and just wander for hours. That was your night," he said.
But as the years went on, he saw the Village struggle to keep its lustre, with many businesses he grew up with closing their doors.
"Osborne still has the heart and the soul, but it needs people to rebuild it," he said.
That's why Hykawy says he is opening Sierra, a new café, restaurant and bar located in the commercial space of an apartment complex on Osborne Street.
"A lot of the people that have been going here for years are crying for a change.… I think it's just a few finishing touches that are left," Hykawy said.
Once named Canada's greatest neighbourhood, Osborne Village has struggled to build momentum, especially in recent years. Coming out of the pandemic, the strip south of Winnipeg's downtown saw a spate of business closures driven by safety issues, a change in consumer habits and a decline in foot traffic.
Those working in the neighbourhood argue those days of struggle are falling further and further behind.
"We're having a lot of investment over this fairly short time frame," said Zohreh Gervais, executive director of Osborne Village BIZ, a non-profit supporting businesses in the Village.
"It speaks to the vibrancy of the neighbourhood. People want to be here."
While 19 businesses have closed their doors in Osborne Village since 2024, 29 others have come to the strip, including at least five that have opened their doors so far this year, data shared by Osborne Village BIZ says.
"The mark of any vibrant neighbourhood is that there's constant turnover, that we're always seeing change," Gervais said.
"But we're seeing fewer and fewer vacancies each year."
The costs of operating or renting a business haven't dipped to make it any more affordable, Sierra's Hykawy said.
As someone who is frequently in the neighbourhood and sees it full of people, he believes there will be enough business for the tables of Sierra to be filled and profitable once it opens this summer.
"There's just a hole in the neighbourhood of a place where you can always go," he said. "We open at 7 a.m. for coffee … and we could be your last stop at 1:55 a.m."
Osborne Village BIZ said it is hard to measure how much foot traffic has exactly changed in the neighbourhood, but more people are living in the area.
Alec Dickson, the operations manager for the non-profit, said at least 350 new residential units have been completed since 2024, and at the moment there are just under 500 others that are being developed or are already under construction.
"The more dense the neighbourhood, the more walkable the neighbourhood and the more services are close by," Dickson said. "Businesses will follow as well, especially when a lot of these projects include ground floor commercial spaces.
"[Osborne] is definitely on an upswing," he said.
Silver Lotus, a boutique store in the Village, has felt the ripple effect.
"These last couple of weeks, it's been like it was pre-COVID," said store owner Judy Coy.
She's been in the Village since the late 1980s and says the neighbourhood has been through recession periods in sales — similar to the one right after the pandemic — in the past.
The strip has recovered before and with new businesses, she is hopeful there will be an uptick again.
"It makes other people want to invest in an area," she said. "The more people there are, the safer it is, because there's always traffic and then [for] businesses … people are spending longer and visiting more."
Months of increased police presence in the business strip since 2024, as part of the Winnipeg police anti-retail-theft initiative, followed by daily foot patrols launched last summer to curb street crime have also helped improve the sense of safety, Coy said.
Osborne Village BIZ said it is not only a matter of perspective, as there's been a reduction in reports of vandalism, violent incidents and public disturbances since police came to the neighbourhood.
"That is huge for building that sense of trust in the community," Gervais said. "It's definitely made a measurable impact for the businesses."
As Osborne Village continues to recover from the pandemic and the loss of some businesses, Coy says the strip has also been the subject of bad reputation.
"I understand when they say it's not what it used to be. But a lot of things aren't what they used to be," she said.
Just like any other place, taking care of Osborne is a shared responsibility between tenants, residents and visitors, and Coy said more people are assuming that responsibility.
"I see it as a place that is going to get better," she said. "The Village never went anywhere. We're still here."
With hundreds of new residential units being built in Osborne Village, Alec Dickson, the operations manager at the Osborne Village BIZ, says the neighbourhood is gaining a new source of foot traffic. (Kevin Nepitabo/CBC)
Judy Coy has been in Osborne Village since the late 1980s. She says the neighbourhood has managed to recover from recessions similar to the one impacting the strip after the pandemic. (Kevin Nepitabo/CBC)
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