The co-owner of a Saskatoon restaurant that is changing hands after 18 years says rising costs and construction in the Broadway district are part of the reason she's leaving the restaurant business.

Megan MacDonald is a co-owner of Sushiro, a Japanese restaurant at the corner of Broadway Avenue and 10th Street E.

The business name and furniture has been sold to a new owner who will be opening a new restaurant in the same space.

Rents rose over time

MacDonald said the restaurant was not sustainable for her and co-owner Todd Gronsdahl.

She said the rent went up from $1,800 per month to $5,000 in the 18 years the business was operating.

Construction that shut down sections of Broadway Avenue in 2016 and 2017 was another major factor in the closure of her business, she added.

Construction on Broadway Avenue in 2016. (Devin Heroux/CBC)

"[It] really put a huge dent in our sales," said MacDonald, adding she could not stay in the restaurant business now that she has two children.

"We haven't even really recovered from that. It was such a giant ding in our year."

Lasting effects

Ryan Grills, an owner of The Yard and Flagon, said his Broadway pub was also hit hard by the construction that blocked off sections of the road.

He said the effects have been lasting because the parking and traffic disruptions changed people's habits.

"Even though the problem is somewhat fixed and rectified it's hard to get those people back, because now they've started going elsewhere and they've found other cool little places to go," said Grills.

"So just because there's no construction on the street and it's all finished, that doesn't mean that all of a sudden those people are all going to flock back to the street."

Grills is optimistic that more people will start to return to Broadway this year, although he is concerned about the possibility of more construction for the city's planned rapid transit line.

He said consultation with business owners will be key to ensuring the project's impact on businesses is minimal.

Other Broadway-area business owners spoke out at the time of the construction, describing the works as "devastating."

Not all businesses affected

Carmen Hamm, who is a co-owner of Una Pizza + Wine, said her business was new when construction started but the restaurant's patio made it a big enough draw to keep their customers coming.

She feels more could be done, though, to help build on the area's reputation.

"Having more independent businesses like ours on the street really helps because it creates this draw and this kind of unique, not cookie cutter-type culture," said Hamm.

"And that's what people have in their heads, but I think we're just not really seeing that play out in actuality as much as I know it was when I was a high school student and hung out on Broadway as often as I could."

She believes the cost of rent has increased across the city but particularly in the Broadway area, and says lower rents would help attract new businesses and encourage business owners to choose Broadway over the growing Riversdale district.

Broadway won't lose lustre

Nosh Eatery and Tap co-owner Tania Friesen said rental rates on Broadway have been high for some time.

She said it was difficult to tell what effect the construction had on sales at her four-year-old business because of the role that the Saskatchewan economy plays in people's spending habits.

"I think the neighbourhood always has its pros and cons. I don't think Broadway will ever lose its lustre completely," said Friesen.

"But it kind of goes through ebbs and flows like any of the other districts in Saskatoon, you know, where they see a little bit of a decline and then a little bit of a pickup."

Ebbs and flows

DeeAnn Mercier, the executive director of the Broadway Business Improvement District, acknowledged it has been a tough few years for some businesses in the area.

In 2015, she said forest fires blanketed the city with smoke, making the district's patios less of a draw than usual.

Broadway Avenue pictured before construction started in 2016. (James Hopkin/CBC)

"I think a district always changes and it ebbs and flows based on lease cycles and the cost, and many other things," said Mercier.

"We're sad to see [Sushiro] go but we're glad there's not going to be a vacancy there."

New businesses coming

A number of new businesses, including a gift shop run by the Wanuskewin Heritage Park, will be opening in the area this year.

There are also plans for the construction of a new business space on Broadway Avenue at the corner of 11th Street E.

According to Mercier, there are tentative plans to open a microbrewery, restaurant and retail businesses in that space.

She believes ongoing investment in marketing and attractions like public art will help improve Broadway's appeal as a walkable neighbourhood.

Any future construction, such as the bus rapid transit line, should be paired with a public campaign to minimize the impact to businesses, she added.

"I think that there's a real marketing campaign that needs to go along with any of these type of big changes, that continues to espouse the positives of the bus transit system, but also of the areas that it impacts," said Mercier.