Proactive

Green shoots hinting at new life began to appear on Main Street over a glorious weekend in Wellington. Enid Grace’s new venture, Piccolina, opened to brisk business serving coffee and treats in a distinctly Italian coffee bar mode. Lemons is another new venue that opened to on a warm weekend, serving cool freshly squeezed lemonade. Further along, the Old Greenhouse was serving ice cream on the east side of town, while the Dairy Dip, or as it is more formally tagged, the Orchard Drive Dari-Bar and Grill was busy on the west side. All, of course, for takeaway only.

Meanwhile Midtown Brewing, East and Main Bistro, and La Condesa maintained a robust takeaway service, likely boosted by a modest but evident increase of folks strolling through the village.

Some are, no doubt, managing and adapting better than others during the COVID-19 lockdown, but no one ought to be confused that these measures, while necessary and effective, have inflicted severe and lasting damage to Prince Edward County’s economy.

At Wellington’s main intersection, only one of the four businesses remain. The convenience store and former pizza store is still empty. (Five years have now passed since the municipality purchased this property to address the creek that runs underneath. Nine years since it was determined there might be problem.) Pomodoro Restaurant—formerly the Wellington Grill—is closed permanently, as is the General, a coffee, sweets, and eclectic variety store that had occupied the southwest corner for the past several years. Only Pierson’s Foodland remains intact and operating on the village’s primary commercial corner.

It is hard to predic when, or if, folks will risk investing in Prince Edward County again—when these empty storefronts might stir to life. This is important because Main Street is a barometer of the County’s economic health, whether we care to admit it or not.

It is much easier to predict what long term reversal will look like. Without retail, restaurants, hospitality, value-added agriculture and other visitor attractions the County economy cannot sustain itself. Not in any way we would know it. Drained of the economic miracle that has transformed this place over the past two decades, our community would revert to the mean of most other rural eastern Ontario communities. Population decline would pick up momentum. Young folks would abandon the place in greater numbers. Schools will close. Health care services will be squeezed. Municipal services costs will rise, increasingly borne by a dwindling cohort of taxpayers. An ever-shrinking enclave of wealthy summer folk.

We have largely avoided the structural long-term decline that has swept through rural communities in our region—indeed across North America. We did this by luck of geography and propelled with some good economic management—albeit too often against the will and inclination of County council. Nevertheless folks—young and old—came and invested in our community. Built businesses. Employed folks. Raised families.

It has all become more precarious in the age of COVID-19.

So, it is immensely encouraging this week to observe that County council is working to extend a hand to restaurants as they prepare to re-open in the coming weeks. Specifically, Councillor Mike Harper, along with Vic Café owner Rick Szabo, have proposed that municipal sidewalks and public spaces be opened up to accommodate outdoor, physically spaced dining facilities.

This means temporarily deploying certain Main Street parking spots in Picton, Bloomfield, and Wellington to accommodate enhanced curbside pick up and/or outdoor patio space. It also means using public spaces, including the park and gardens behind the museum in Wellington, for the same purpose. It arrives just as the province has announced that that restaurant patios will be allowed to open in our region, while minding social distance.

It is a creative and sensible plan. And while it is not entirely clear how it will work, these folks and council deserve our support and patience as they forge the details. For these are the sorts of initiatives that are crucial to restarting certain segments and signalling that Prince Edward County remains committed to nurturing a healthy economy. It is surely the proactive problem-solving that was imagined by Mayor Steve Ferguson when he established the Municipal Economic Recovery Team that Harper and Szabo lead.

Vacationing in rural France a few years ago, we soon learned about market nights in the region. On a rotating basis, each surrounding village hosted a large outdoor dining event—featuring a variety of food, wine, and drink. All local, all fresh, all magnificent. A rustic but memorable celebration to which everyone was invited. A bit like Jamie Kennedy’s Fish Fry in Hillier—but several nights of the week.

Our community is blessed by a great many creative folks—especially innovative food folks. We can figure this out.

We are all wandering through uncharted territory. Yet it is truly reassuring to see Shire Hall and our elected officials working to assist those businesses most vulnerable to the economic damage wrought by COVID-19. Furthermore, it signals perhaps, this council’s acknowledgment and gratitude for an economy that has too long been taken for granted.

rick@wellingtontimes.ca