Downtown Eastside restaurant says 'deplorable conditions' in area forcing them to close

An independent 麻豆传媒映画food business and restaurant on the Downtown Eastside has announced they will be closing their Hastings Street location due to what they're calling "deplorable conditions" in the area.

Balila, a Middle Eastern hummus-focused restaurant, opened up at 47 West Hastings in early 2018. Now the business has announced it is closing at the end of the month, not only because of the ongoing pandemic but also because "the conditions of the area are getting wors[e] by the day."

Residents and business owners in the area have been increasingly vocal over the last few months about the tent city that arose in Strathcona Park following the dismantling of the one at Oppenheimer Park on the Downtown Eastside, as well as the volume of crime in the neighbourhood.

Sunday is a good day for a relaxing walk in your neighbourhood park, right? Clear the mind, commune with nature and gain some perspective?

Not if you live in Strathcona!
— Jamie Maclaren QC (@A2JamieMac)

So many historical buildings & what could be lovely neighbourhoods in the , left to rot. Redevelop/restore this area & think of all the potential for residential spaces & businesses.
— VanInsanity (@NoFunVan)

I was nearly assaulted by a guy in the alley behind my home today. He called it “my alley”. This person (now arrested) put out a cigarette ON A DOG from our building for peeing on “his rock”.
— Graham Williams (@threepio)

The most recent homeless count conducted in March showed there were 2,095 people in 麻豆传媒映画who were either living in some form of shelter, or on the street, including those residing in recreational vehicles and cars, which there are many at the edge of Strathcona Park.

Coun. Pete Fry, who lives in Strathcona and was recently threatened on a sidewalk by a man saying he would stab him, outlined some of those concerns last month in addressing park board commissioners.

“There have been trip-line booby traps, bear bangers shot at park users, threats with weapons, swarmings, verbal accosting and physical assaults directly as a result of the encampment,” Fry said.

Balila's operators say they "fear for our customers' health and safety as well as [that] of our team members and partners," at the Hastings location, saying the problems are "evident to the naked eye."

Those problems, explain the owners, are driving customers away and hurting Balila's bottom line: "Our sales level[s] have not been sustainable within the Hastings area. Our decision, to the most, is based on an area that brings strong concerns to both the mental and physical health of our Balila family, our partners, and most certainly our customers."

Balila also operates a location at 983 Helmcken, which will continue to remain open. The plan is to find another suitable location for a second Balila outpost in the coming months.

Here is their closing announcement in full: