Patience pays off for determined downtown entrepreneurs

There is no shortage of good, private-sector ideas for downtown St. Catharines.

Having the money, ability and patience to work through the city hall meat grinder and implement them in timely fashion? Well, that’s another story.

Keen followers of the downtown scene may recall a column from three years ago that detailed the desires of a developer to open up the backs of St. Paul Street buildings.

A group of local real estate types had purchased a dilapidated old structure at 160-168 St. Paul, near James, and invested considerable cash to transform it into a potentially boffo commercial enterprise.

Most intriguing was the concept of having a restaurant balcony at the back of the building that would look out over the canal valley.

Mike Mazzolino, one of the group’s partners, expressed excitement over the changes taking place downtown at the time — puck palace, culture castle — and hoped their re-fashioned building would add to the burgeoning spirit.

The real estate group has unquestionably had some impact along St. Paul. It eventually purchased other nearby buildings that now house the Plan B nano-brewery and Bolete restaurant. And Subway moved into one of the available units at 160-168 St. Paul.

But the dream of a having a restaurant balcony at the back of one of these buildings has remained unrealized. Until now. OK, given the hoops one has to jump through to make these old downtown spaces ready for commercial use, I supposed one shouldn’t assume everything is going to go smoothly here.

However, the wheels are now well in motion to make it happen.

Sarah Jarvis recently moved her Craft Arts Market from James Street to the available unit at 160168 St. Paul.

Her store includes a small coffee shop element. At her new location, that element will morph into a separate cafe and cocktail bar on the floor below her store.

Maximum seating capacity for the interior space is still being determined (anywhere from 30-50 patrons). But Trouble Coffee & Spirits will also have an outdoor rear balcony that will be about eight feet deep and run the length of the building. The balcony is set to be built in May. If all goes well, Jarvis hopes to open her new enterprise in July or August.

“We’re carving the path for other businesses to do this,” said Jarvis. Keep your fingers crossed. Speaking of long gestation periods, Krav restaurant at the corner of St. Paul and Carlisle streets should be opening in a few weeks.

I think I may have first mentioned this proposed high-end steakhouse in late 2015, with the declaration it would likely open in February 2016. Oops. After it appeared things were moving along swimmingly, visible construction activity diminished considerably for most of last year. And despite the Coming Soon signs plastered on the windows, there was no clear indication if and when it would open.

Recently, though, I noticed some bustle behind the windows. So, I dropped in and met two of the owners, Shelley Smith and Daryl Paulin (he’ll also serve as general manager), and chef Greg Rennet. If all goes well (a mandatory qualifier when talking about these things), I was assured Krav is on track to open by the end of April.

As was initially proposed, it will be an upscale steak-and-seafood restaurant.

There will be seating for 96 in the main-level restaurant. There will also be an 80-seat lounge on the basement level that will, on occasion, feature live entertainment.

Krav is scheduled to be open seven days a week for lunch and dinner.

It’s been a long haul, but Smith said the ownership group remained convinced the new “heart of the downtown” was in need of this sort of restaurant and lounge.

Thus, the incentive to soldier on.

Speaking of never giving up hope, the site of the old Russell Hotel at the corner of James and St. Paul has been sold.

But that’s for a later column.