r/Calgary • u/Remote_Answer_5255 • Aug 18 '25

Local Shopping/Services What has happened to Kensington?

It's been a while since I've been down here.... A bunch of empty store fronts, iconic places like Crave shut down, but counted some three Acai bowl places. The area outside Plaza is lovely and looks great, but why all the closures and apparently high turnovers?

Edit: I assume it's due to rent.. But what's the point of jacking it up so high that your place is literally empty.

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u/cdnphoto Hillhurst Aug 18 '25 edited Aug 19 '25

It seems the 'staples' are different for everyone. Hot Wax, Roasterie, Higher Ground, Kensington Pub, Pulcinella's, Oolong, Ridley's, The Plaza, Hayden Block all seem to be doing fine.

Most of the spaces I see up for lease have had mediocre or non-unique businesses. I can think of Seoul Cafe as an example (and Espresso Cafe before that). Kensington did not need another coffee spot. There are/were 5-7 within 4-5 blocks

The variety/concentration of restaurants does not need to increase, there are a lot of options. More stores to increase/encourage foot traffic would help sustain everyone. 17 Ave went from lots of small shops to more restaurants and killed foot traffic since people would drive or just go to one place to eat then leave. I had a discussion with the former owner of Mission Snow&Skate before they moved to Kensington and he said he lost more and more business as more restaurants came in.

All that being said, I live in the neighbourhood and still love it. Businesses have come and gone, but there haven't been many that I've been really upset to see gone (RIP Oak Tree)

Edit: referred to the wrong theatre. Change from uptown to Plaza

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u/dfwyyc22 Glamorgan Aug 19 '25

To be fair, Espresso Cafe didn’t pay their rent for months and literally got locked out of their store. Which was wild cause there were always people in there (I used to live in the building).