VANCOUVER — An increase in retail vacancies in one of the main shopping areas in Vancouver’s West End isn’t stopping one young chef from opening her first restaurant.

If all the renovations can be completed and approved by the city on time, Nevada Cope plans to open Ritual restaurant at 774 Denman Street just north of Robson on Jan. 23. Until Cope came along, the ground floor retail space she’s leased lay vacant for at least two years. Cope’s new 48-seat eatery will be next to another ground floor retail space that has been vacant for at least a year.

All along Denman the number of vacancies has been increasing. There are now more than a dozen empty ground floor or second level retail spaces in the 12 blocks from Coal Harbour at its northern end to English Bay at the southern end of the street. One new two-storey building in the 1000-block of Denman, with several potential retail spaces, remains vacant despite being finished more than six months ago.

Cope can’t quite believe that there are so many empty storefronts along Denman.

“When I came across the space, it surprised me,” Cope said.

“It was a raw space and empty. It seems crazy thing that it’s so busy on Denman and so much walk-by traffic but just no bites on the lease.”

Cope, 26, and the former chef at the Italian Cultural Centre, said she’s already spent $250,000 on renovations — way more than the $100,000 in her original budget.

She said Ritual will focus on American and “world-style comfort food”. One of her special items will be a deluxe version of a hand pie, which some people may recognize as a kind of Pop-Tart.

Ritual will also be introducing a no-tipping policy. Cope said staff will be paid a living wage of around $21 an hour so that diners won’t have to leave a gratuity. If customers still want to leave something as a sign of appreciation, all money will go to charity A Loving Spoonful, which provides meals to people living with HIV and AIDS.

“As far as the area goes, it seems crazy to me that not more has developed down here,” she said. “It’s right on the bus route, has a huge, dense population.”

Stephen Regan, executive director of West End Business Improvement Association, said he’s noticed the recent increase in vacancies along Denman, where the WEBIA represents about 130 businesses.

“It’s been relatively high — from nine to 13 vacancies (at one time),” he said. “Right now, it has peaked a little bit.”

He said a healthy vacancy rate would be about three to four per cent, which would allow for regular turnover but not so much that people start to notice empty storefronts.

“You’re probably in the range of 12 per cent vacancy rate (right now) which is pretty high,” he said.

Regan said Denman is an unusual street. For local residents, it’s their neighbourhood main street with stores such as a butcher’s shop and shoe repair as well as hair salons. It’s also a commuter strip for cars going to and from the Lions Gate Bridge. During the summer, it becomes a kind of resort area for tourists going to Stanley Park and the beaches, English Bay and the seawall.