'Strangling us': Paul's sales plummet during lengthy Robson construction
The operators of Paul bakery and cafe say sales have plummeted during the months-long construction on Robson Street, and they’re worried the business will be forced to close if things don’t change soon.
Part of the shopping stretch of Robson Street between Jervis and Thurlow is currently torn up because of work on the new Bute-Robson Plaza. Paul’s entrance is hidden behind blue fencing, and the cafe had to remove some of its popular patio to make way for the project.
It’s much harder to access the bakery from the street now. Robson’s sidewalks are fenced in with narrow pathways to cross from one side to the other. At one point, Paul’s director of brand development, Sherri Zarandooz, said potential customers had to walk all the way to Aritzia and backtrack to get to the door.
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“It’s like they’re strangling us,” she said. “We will close if this continues.”
Paul/Submitted
Zarandooz shared video footage of a pedestrian approaching a construction worker standing at the entrance to Paul’s side of the street and then turning around. The bakery’s operators say the sidewalk mess is discouraging customers from coming in and sometimes blocking them completely.
The franchise owners of Paul’s Robson location opened the cafe in 2021 after five years of talks with the 131-year-old bakery chain with roots in northern France. Things were going well despite pandemic restrictions and a weak economy — until construction decimated their foot traffic.
To paint a picture of how bad things are, co-owner Seyed Hosseini pointed to Valentine’s Day sales. Last year, the restaurant sold nearly $20,000 worth of coffee and baked goods on February 14. This year, they barely made $8,000 in sales — a 60% decrease.
They’ve had to lay off staff and cut hours. Before construction began, they employed about 50 people. Now that’s closer to 30. They’ve had to cut more hours because of the construction than during COVID-19 restrictions.
“A lot of our staff rely on these wages, these hours, to survive as well,” Zarandooz said. “We feel guilty.”
Paul/Submitted
Hosseini said a construction worker first informed him of the project in November. At the time, Hosseini thought it would only last a couple of weeks. Three months later, the work shows no signs of being finished.
With a $44,000 rent bill due every month and about $40,000 of payroll coming out every two weeks, the numbers just don’t add up with the drastically lower number of customers coming in. Daily Hive Urbanized spoke with Paul on March 6 around 2 p.m. They’d only sold $600 of product since opening. On a typical day pre-construction, the bakery would normally report $5,000 of revenue by mid-afternoon.
The owners pulled from their personal savings to pay rent in January and February. They’ve been late paying March rent.
Paul tried going to the City for help but was told there are few supports available to tenants. They heard their landlord may be able to get relief on property taxes, and those savings could be passed on to the tenant. The bakery’s owners are trying to meet with the landlord to see if they’d cooperate.
“I personally think the City is very inconsiderate for the way they’re handling this,” Zarandooz said.
City says Robson Street construction should finish by end of March
Megan Devlin/Daily Hive
2024 revised scope concept: Final design of the Bute-Robson Plaza. (City of Vancouver)
A City spokesperson said it’s aware of the impact on business and regularly works with the Robson BIA to understand shops’ needs and concerns. The spokesperson added it’s supporting businesses in the area through signage indicating they’re open, detour signage, and on-site traffic control. It’s informed businesses about what’s happening through letters, phone calls, and in-person visits and posts traffic impacts on social media.
The spokesperson acknowledged that customers were stopped from accessing the south side of Robson Street for several hours on March 6 because of concrete pouring.
The City’s website estimates that construction will continue until fall 2025, with work hours from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. The good news is that work on Robson Street is expected to be completed by the end of March, the spokesperson said. The entire plaza should be ready by fall.
Paul’s owners want more considerations for businesses trying to pull through. Even moving barricades on weekends when workers aren’t there would make a difference.
“It’s been very stressful,” Zarandooz said.
Hosseini also asked what the shopping street will look like by the time the new plaza opens.
“It’s an effect on the whole community. If you have less businesses around, even after the construction finishes, nobody is going to walk on Robson Street,” he said.