BIA sees strong start to Open Air Dunlop program
Now in its second weekend of the season, officials with the Downtown Barrie Business Association (BIA) say the Open Air Dunlop program is off to a strong start.
The program, which officially launched for its second year on June 12, sees Dunlop Street closed between Mulcaster and the Five Points intersection on Saturdays throughout the summer.
"Our businesses are really just loving seeing the customers come in, smiling faces, happy faces, and you know sales are up," says Kelly McKenna, the executive director of the BIA. "Theyve had their doors closed for months, and last week when we opened up, they said it was some of the best sales they've had in over a year.
One of those business owners is Jill Dyck. For the last 17 years, Dyck has owned Bohemia Barrie, which has seen many iterations over those years, now operating as a coffee shop. After a challenging year, she's welcoming the increase in business.
"I've kept going throughout this whole thing. But it's not the same," Dyck says to CTV News. "Keeping going is not the sort of a celebration. And this is the first celebration that we've really been able to have after this long pandemic."
Dyck admits that she initially wasn't supporting the program when it launched in the summer of 2020. However, she says her opinion has changed.
"I think this is really the right direction to go for downtown Barrie," Dyck says. "It just allows people to relax more and see what's down here and be acquainted with the people that have businesses down here, the little cute places that you wouldn't normally see if you were walking by them."
For more information on the Open Air Dunlop program, you can click here.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
What do weight loss drugs mean for a diet industry built on eating less and exercising more?
Recent injected drugs like Wegovy and its predecessor, the diabetes medication Ozempic, are reshaping the health and fitness industries.
2 military horses that broke free and ran loose across London are in serious condition
Two military horses that bolted and ran miles through the streets of London after being spooked by construction noise and tossing their riders were in a serious condition and required operations, a British government official said Thursday.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
It's no secret that spring can be a tumultuous time for Canadian weather, and as an unseasonably mild El Nino winter gives way to summer, there's bound to be a few swings in temperature that seem out of the ordinary. From Ontario to the Atlantic, though, this week is about to feel a little erratic.
He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball's oldest living major leaguer is turning 100
The oldest living former major leaguer, Art Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.