The Pulse: Sept. 25, 2024

Gayle Martin took a chance when she switched her Whyte Avenue storefront for a shipping container at Station Park, and, so far, the owner of The Wish List Gifts says she sees both pros and cons to the move.

"The rent was going up," Martin told Taproot about the decision to find a new space. "I didn't think the value was there for what we were getting. I felt like I wanted to downsize, and I liked the idea behind this development."

In 2004, Martin opened The Wish List next to the Richards Block on Whyte Avenue near 104 Street NW after working in retail on the avenue for more than a decade. Two years in, she said she outgrew the space and moved to a bigger one on the avenue. But last year, when her landlord informed her of a $1,500 monthly rent increase, Martin decided to move The Wish List to Beljan Development's micro-retail project. She's been on the main floor at unit 108 since December.

Developments like Station Park are sometimes called container parks. This is the first in Edmonton but the concept isn't new: Toronto's stackt launched in 2019 and is described as "North America's largest shipping container market." Back in 2011, a container park called Boxpark opened in London, England.

Commercial bays at Station Park range from 157 to 316 square feet, much smaller than traditional bays in Edmonton. That's a key difference, Martin said.

"I think that's where the market is going right now and where lifestyle is going right now — tiny homes, tiny businesses," she said. "Things are downsizing. People don't have as much expendable income right now. When you do a smaller, more curated space, I think you're helping them and you're helping yourself."

Still, Martin said the early days at Station Park were tough. She said she was the first tenant, and the lack of neighbours meant foot traffic was weaker than on nearby Whyte Avenue. "We were the only one here for several months," Martin said. "That was particularly painful … It's financially devastating."

As of August, 75% to 80% of units at Station Park are now leased, Beljan's chief operating officer Dave Hennessey said. Some businesses at Station Park include snack import shop YEG EXOTIC, artist-entrepreneur collective LIGHTHOUSE, and vintage store Faded Selection. Hennessey hopes the park can reach 100% occupancy by the end of the year, and is confident in that thanks, in part, to excitement for EPIC Market. EPIC is the development's food hall and event space. It opened in August.

While Martin said she's frustrated by the foot traffic at Station Park, she believes it will improve. One challenge for that, she noted, is that shops at the development don't share consistent operating hours, with closed storefronts potentially deterring passersby from browsing adjacent shops.

"A lot of people aren't open on Mondays and Tuesdays," Martin said. "I think it really hurts everyone when people aren't open. There's people that need jobs and want to work … I think we have to figure out how we can get everybody on board to have the same hours."

• Two people were injured in two separate crashes involving Edmonton's Valley Line Southeast LRT this week. On Sept. 24, a semi-truck hit a train near Davies Station, causing a derailment and injuring one LRT passenger, while on Sept. 23, a cyclist suffered non-life-threatening injuries after colliding with a train near Bonnie Doon Station. Both crashes involved illegal right turns on red lights, police said.
• A Maru Public Opinion poll done for CityNews found that 70% of non-homeowners in Edmonton feel home ownership will remain out of their reach because of rising housing prices and a supply shortage. Despite Edmonton's relatively lower home prices compared to other Canadian cities, 36% of survey respondents cited housing as their second biggest issue, after affordability and cost of living.
• The Edmonton Police Service is urging residents of the southwest neighbourhood of Keswick to check their properties for bullet holes following a drive-by shooting in the area on Sept. 22. Investigators want to retrieve a bullet they believe was fired from a vehicle around 2:15am near King Wynd SW and King Gate SW, the police service said in a release. While the investigation is ongoing, police say there is no immediate danger to the public.
• A pair of Edmonton researchers published a report highlighting the experiences of anti-Palestinian racism faced by students in Alberta schools. The report, included in an Aug. 27 publication from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, documents findings of systemic racism and exclusion of Palestinian narratives in classrooms. "The primary way that they experienced anti-Palestinian racism was through silences and exclusions," said researcher Muna Saleh, an associate professor at Concordia University of Edmonton.
• Chipotle opened its first location in Edmonton, drawing large lunchtime crowds and joining other American food chains that have set up shop in the city, including P.F. Chang's, Crumbl Cookies, and Chick-fil-A. The city's growing population, disposable income, and available space make it an attractive market for these retailers, said Heather Thomson with the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce.
• The Canada Post Community Foundation has awarded $22,007 to the Arts on the Ave Edmonton Society for its Growing Green Alleys project, which aims to revitalize Alberta Avenue's alleyways with art, play spaces, and safety improvements. The grant is part of $1.3 million the foundation is distributing to 106 community groups across the country.
• CBC News published a look into what Big Mama's & Papa's Pizzeria in Windermere says is world's largest deliverable pizza. Measuring 54-by-54 inches, this massive pizza takes at least two people to transport and requires a custom roof rack for deliveries. With 200 slices, it feeds 50 to 60 people and can cost between $350 and $400.
• Edmonton's BTB Soccer Academy has become a national soccer powerhouse, sending three teams to national championships this October. The academy began with just a few players 11 years ago and have since grown to about 500 players. The 2023 Canadian Youth Sports Report found that soccer is the most popular youth sport in Canada, with about one million children across the country playing the game. The study also highlighted the financial burden of youth sports, with families spending an average of $1,820 per child annually.
• Senator Paula Simons has released a report detailing the challenges facing Canadian municipalities, highlighting their struggle to deal with pressing issues with limited resources and constitutional powers. Simons wrote online that she hopes the report will spark a national conversation to strengthen cities, towns, and rural communities in addressing issues such as climate change, housing, and the opioid epidemic.

On this day in 1953, one of Edmonton's best-known restaurants was showing off a new look.

The Silk Hat on Jasper Avenue had just reopened after a major renovation and expansion, which doubled its size to 121 seats and made it the largest lunch counter in Alberta. It was just one of many renovations the Silk Hat experienced over its lifetime as one of Edmonton's longest-operating restaurants.

The Silk Hat traces its roots back to 1912, when the diner opened on 102 Street and Jasper Avenue. The opening was part of a rush of eateries that sprang up to serve the city's rapidly growing population. There is a dispute over what name the establishment opened under. Some sources say it was originally known as the Golden Spike, though newspaper accounts imply this name temporarily replaced the Silk Hat, only to be reversed later.

Whatever the restaurant's original name, it quickly became one of the most popular places downtown. By the 1930s, in addition to coffee and burgers, the Silk Hat also offered patrons regular sessions with fortune tellers. Surprisingly, the Silk Hat wasn't the only Edmonton restaurant to offer fortune tellers, but it was the Silk Hat that kept the tradition going the longest, with supposed soothsayer Madame Charlotte holding weekly readings there for more than 40 years.

By the 1940s, it appears there were actually two Silk Hat locations on Jasper Avenue — the one on 102 Street and another on 106 Street (listed in employment ads as Silk Hat Coffee Shop No. 1 and No. 2). Both were purchased by Edward Weiss. The 106 Street location was closed and consolidated with the original about a decade later.

Over the next decades, the Silk Hat changed hands and decor but retained a nostalgic, almost timeless charm. It was the kind of place that still had ancient but working jukeboxes and old movie posters from the neighbouring Paramount Theatre. It was also where liver and onions remained on the menu long after it disappeared from other restaurants.

The Silk Hat was just shy of 95 years old when it closed in 2007, largely due to plans to build an office tower at the site. Those plans failed, however, and in 2008 the restaurant was resurrected as a gastropub called The Hat. It operated for just under a decade (during which time its new owner discovered a mysterious, unrecorded tunnel below the building) before closing in 2017.

The space the Silk Hat occupied for so many years has remained empty since 2017. Edmonton's culinary community continues to be strong. This week saw the screening of a new docuseries, Eating Edmonton, which features interviews with restaurant owners and patrons to tell stories about their community.

This clipping was found on Vintage Edmonton, a daily look at Edmonton's history from armchair archivist @revRecluse of @VintageEdmonton.

Here are some events happening today in the Edmonton area.

• Life Sciences Week Takeover at Community Coffee starting at 7:30am at Edmonton Unlimited
• Environmental Forum: Water Use Adaptation starting at 9am at the Strathcona Community Centre and County Hall
• Tour: Telerobotic and Biorobotic Systems Group starting at 10am at Electrical and Computer Engineering Research Facility
• Insights into Cosmetics Formulation & Production Processes starting at 11am at Swift Innovations
• A Cybersecurity Masterclass — Stepping Through the Cybersecurity Journey starting at 12pm online
• Indigenous Health Program — Bannock and Tea starting at 12pm at Heritage Medical Research Centre
• Improving Research by using Cutting Edge Imaging Technologies starting at 2:30pm at Katz Group Centre for Pharmacy and Health Research
• Association for Corporate Growth Edmonton Fall Networking Event starting at 4:30pm at Rogers Place
• Spotlight Series starring Andrew Grose starting at 6pm at Spotlight Cabaret
• Investing in Edmonton starting at 6pm at Fu's Repair Shop
• What Your Utility Bill Isn't Telling You, and How Solar Can Help starting at 6:30pm online
• Democamp YEG - Life Science Edition starting at 6:30pm at Amii
• Alberta Renewables Training Information Night starting at 7pm online
• September Book Club starting at 7pm at Magpie Books

And here are some upcoming events to keep in mind:

• Oct. 10: Book Launch: What Kind of Daughter? by Rayanne Haines at Audreys Books
• Oct. 16: LitFest
• Oct. 21: Food Fair Charcuterie Meet & Greet at Heritage Park Pavilion

Visit the beta version of the Taproot Edmonton Calendar for many more events in the Edmonton region.