Article content

Unreal City won’t close for good until the end of the month, but the fate of the downtown comic book store is clear to anyone walking past: The sign hanging in the window reads, ‘For Lease.’

It’s an all-too-familiar sight on the 100 block of Second Avenue North. The block between 22nd Street and 23rd Street is a patchwork of empty storefronts, vacant lots and locally-owned businesses that are barely hanging on.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or 'I wouldn't advise anybody to open a shop downtown right now': Another Second Avenue shop closes its doors Back to video

“I wouldn’t advise anybody to open a shop downtown right now, with the rents that people are still charging, with the economy the way it is,” said Theo Kivol, who opened Unreal City in 2009.

Kivol decided to close the store earlier this year, after a weak Canadian dollar and high rental rates compounded the problem of big box and chain stores capitalizing on the surging popularity of what he calls “nerd culture.”

Although he isn’t bitter — “At the end of the day, I made a bunch of people really happy,” he said — Kivol is concerned about the future of locally-owned businesses in Saskatoon’s core. The evidence is right outside his door, he said. When Unreal City closes its doors for the last time, it will become another vacant storefront on a block full of them.