Skyrocketing rent forcing beloved store out of Vancouver’s Kerrisdale neighbourhood

The Kerrisdale Bootery is closing down its 41st Avenue store because of skyrocketing commercial rent. (Jumy Ogunsola / CTV News)

After 77 years, a well-beloved shoe store in the heart of Kerrisdale is getting ready to bid the neighborhood farewell, and it’s generating a lot of emotion.

“We always end up buying all the shoes before the start of the school year,” said Efrat El-Hanany, who has been a customer of The Kerrisdale Bootery for more than 20 years.

“We know a lot of other customers. We meet people. You see the kids growing up.”

The Kerrisdale Bootery first opened in 1949 and has been an intricate part of the community for decades, seeing generations of kids through kindergarten, elementary and high school.

Some of those kids now have their own families and take them there to shop for shoes.

John Lewis is the sixth owner of the store and took over in 1994.

Since taking over, he’s seen lots of transformations in the neighbourhood.

“We’ve lost the next door. It became bubble tea in 2014. Then it’s gone through three iterations of food, drinks, bubble-tea-based. They all failed,” he said.

Closing the store was a decision he came to as rent crept up.

“Everything we now pay when added together is more than 100 per cent than we paid three years ago,” he said.

“It’s been three years of frustration, disappointment, and not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.”

But though he’s closing up shop in Kerrisdale, Lewis is not ready to give up on the business entirely. He said he’s looking into downsizing and moving to a different location, perhaps inside a mall, as well as creating an online store.

“I’d hate to see the Bootery go down under my watch,” he said.

Other businesses struggling

Unlike residential tenancies, which are heavily regulated with rent increase caps, there are no legal maximums for commercial rent increases.

West 41st Avenue is a busy transit corridor connecting UBC’s Vancouver campus to several parts of the city. The bulk of the business area covers the stretch of West 41st between Maple and Larch streets.

Like many other parts of the city, the neighbourhood is undergoing extensive changes, with multiple new condo developments popping up, as well as the Arbutus Greenway expansion.

Lewis is not the only business owner feeling the pinch of high rents and unaffordable leases on that stretch of the street.

Franck Point is the owner of Faubourg, a pastry and coffee shop that’s been in the neighbourhood for about 15 years. He’s also got other locations like downtown Vancouver and Yaletown.

But his Kerrisdale store was recently forced to restructure.

“I was very surprised that the increase in the lease was 21 per cent,” Point said. “Me accepting this 21-per-cent-plus will take my lease to $19,972 a month.”

He had to make the difficult decision of downsizing his store considerably to remain in the area. His old location now has a “for lease” sign on it, as does the store next to it.

According to Adrian Beruschi, senior vice-president of retail properties for CBRE Limited, it’s a mixed bag when it comes to overall retail space health in Vancouver.

“It feels like there is an uptick of vacant storefronts in some neighborhoods and along specific streets, while other pockets of the city remain very tight,” Beruschi said.

He suggests it’s hard to conclude that the number of empty store fronts in the city is increasing, and he’s optimistic that Vancouver’s retail landscape remains vibrant and resilient.

“Of course, it is always upsetting to see our favorite mom and pop stores close their doors, but there are always new entrepreneurs emerging,” he said. “The city and province need to become more aware of the real challenges facing businesses today.”

What’s causing the trend?

According to Beruschi, there are many factors affecting small businesses in Vancouver.

“Zoning, permitting, and building code requirements remain complex and slow-moving, and the pace has not kept up with what today’s retailers need,” he said.

“Reduced parking, increased parking costs, bike lane expansions, and traffic rerouting can affect customer accessibility and overall foot traffic.”

Those are concerns Lewis alluded to, as well. Additionally, most side streets in Kerrisdale now have new parking meters recently installed by the city.

Apart from skyrocketing rent, Lewis has also faced the loss of a few big shoe brands that could have helped to boost sales.

“When you are in close proximity to some other stores that some of the major brands prefer to sell to rather than yourself, it makes it very challenging to get brands that people ask for,” he said.

“Whether it be major athletic brands or major shoe brands, street stores are protected differently than malls.”

Changing consumer behaviour

Another factor impacting small businesses, aside from soaring rental prices and high taxes, is change in consumer trends. More people are now turning to online shopping, for convenience.

The Bootery is one of the stores that has felt the impact of the changing trends firsthand. With most of its customers being toddlers, school-aged kids, and seniors, it relies solely on people walking into the store to try on shoes before buying them.

“It’s so many customers we enjoy talking to, joking around with. We like to have a little bit of fun,” said Lewis. “It’s so nice to see kids when they are happy with their new pair of shoes.”

“There’s an area for kids to play,” he added. “It’s been a significant part of the way that we’ve kind of lived in Kerrisdale.”

When it comes to staffing at the Bootery, it operates like a family. Most of the employees are locals. That includes students from neighboring Point Grey and Magee Secondary schools working their first paid jobs, as well as UBC students. There are also older workers in the neighbourhood who have been with the store for decades.

For Lewis, after seeing the community evolve so much, the people and warmth are some of the things he will miss the most when the store closes for the last time this March.

“If it’s just going to be another big fancy chain store, it’s not something that we want to change in the kind of style of living that we enjoy here in Kerrisdale,” said El-Hanany.