When Romy Marlo Ellis told her friends she was opening a cafe on Simpson Street in Thunder Bay, Ont., they questioned her decision.

“I’ve had quite a bit of pushback or people saying, ‘are you sure you want to have a business down there?’” said Ellis, founder and chief executive officer of Crush Coffee Co.

“I’m 100 per cent sure.”

Located in historic Fort William on the city’s south side, Simpson Street has gone through many changes over the years. What used to be a bustling downtown core has become marked by vacant buildings, and among some people who remain in the neighbourhood, growing concerns around public safety — namely break-ins and public drug use.

But as the old adage goes, looks can be deceiving, according to the business owners that have stood their ground.

“They’re not really public-facing businesses but there’s gobs of businesses on the street,” said Chris Talarico, owner of Carlito’s Board Game Cafe.

“The buildings are older and a lot of them don’t look like there might be something going on — or every second building might be a little bit more dilapidated — so it’s really easy to focus on that,” he continued. “But there is much happening in the area.”

At the cafe and roastery, Ellis is in the process of renovating 114-B Simpson St., where she hopes to open an entirely female-led business this March. She’s partnered with Urban Abbey and plans to hire some of the women who live in its transitional housing. 

“It’s people like me and Scotland [Morrison] of Urban Abbey and all of the different businesses — Jen [Davidson] from Canvas and Clay — people like us that have belief in the area that will actually breathe life back into it,” Ellis said.

“If nobody breathes life back into it, then the lungs remain empty.” 

Repairing infrastructure, attracting developers

When it comes to physical infrastructure, the city’s Simpson Street Rehabilitation Project is entering its third year. 

The work has included everything from the replacement of the underground sanitary sewer and watermain, asphalt resurfacing and streetlight repairs.

The final stage is targeting an area known as Charry’s Corner between Simpson and Rowand streets. McKellar ward councillor Brian Hamilton says he’ll be gathering feedback from residents on what they’d like to see done there during a ward meeting this spring.

The city is also continuing its Reimagining Victoriaville project nearby, which Hamilton says will have a ripple effect along Simpson Street.

“As that commuter corridor opens up, we’re anticipating more traffic down the Simpson Street corridor that would actually support more business development, additional opportunities for entrepreneurship and residential development,” he said.

As for the area’s empty buildings, the city has received more than $2 million through the federal Housing Accelerator Fund to deal with vacant and run-down lots.

Through its vacant and dilapidated buildings program, city staff have identified 59 buildings that could be either demolished or repurposed to support more than 230 new homes. 

Joel DePeuter, the city’s manager of development services, says this brings more opportunities for both residential and commercial development in areas like Simpson Street.

“Downtowns overall are a priority for investment. I think they really, in many ways, define a city,” he said. “We do hope to see additional residential projects and also we hope to see additional uptake for the city incentive programs that apply to the downtown in this area.”

Blending businesses and social services

Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, Music World has always called Simpson Street home, albeit in a few different buildings.

The family-owned and operated business has seen activity in the neighbourhood ebb and flow, but it’s also seen an uptick in social challenges.

Joe Riccio, one of the store’s owners, says that as the city looks to revitalize the neighbourhood, he’d like to see community policing brought back.

“There used to be police on the streets walking the beat all the time, and we liked that they would pop into the store once in a while,” Riccio said. “I think that something like that is good to have for the community, so everyone feels safe.”

At Carlito’s, which has been open for nearly four years, Talarico admits some customers have shared hesitations about coming in due to public perceptions about the area.

“Being on the main street like this, you’re going to end up with a mixed kind of populace and a mixed economy of people who are more reliant on social services, people who aren’t at all,” Talarico said.

“I think that blending of people in this area is very positive.”

In many ways, social service agencies have been leading Simpson Street’s revitalization.

Our Kids Count is looking to transform McKenzie and Simpson streets into a block of essential services. Construction is also underway on a new project at Grace Place (which has yet to be announced), and NorWest Community Health Centres is continuing to foster the Simpson Street Community Garden.

Urban Abbey is also expanding its presence on Simpson Street as it renovates the former Adanac Hotel, where it plans to build additional transitional housing units and programming space.

“The infrastructure that a downtown can offer is often something that keeps people nearby just because transportation is such an issue,” said Urban Abbey’s head of staff, Scotland Morrison.

“Walking from, say, a clinic to a warming centre to a shelter — having all of that walkable — is super important.”

Back at Crush Coffee Co., Ellis hopes to work alongside her neighbours to draw more people to the area — and in her view, everyone in the community has a role to play.

“It doesn’t matter what city you’re in. You’re going to see wealth and expansion and then you’re going to see poverty and challenge,” she said.

“The way that you counteract that is to come down and support and to be a solution, not a negative voice.”