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Like many businesses on Albert Street, the last two years have been very difficult for The Cure due to work on the 11th Avenue Revitalization Project.
But with the street back open, the downtown kitchen and bar is starting to see more customers come by.
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Kelly Cairns, one of the bar’s owners, said it’s been nice to see the rebound, as its sales were cut in half during the construction.
“We just spend our winters trying to save money to pay for the summer; it’s rough,” she said.
The 11th Avenue revitalization began in 2023 and is set to finish in 2027.
“In times like that, we really rely on our regulars. We’ve built a really strong base of regulars that support us through thick and thin,” Cairns said.
“Through COVID they supported us, and now through this. We rely heavily on (workers in) the courthouse, SGI, SaskTel, and Colliers — the buildings that are around us. They all support us really well during those harder times.
“It’s harder to attract new customers if people are afraid to come downtown and have a hassle with parking and trying to find spots when there are streets blocked off.”
Cairns said The Cure has shifted its focus to trying to attract new people.
“We’re always offering new events, we come up with new cocktails, we come up with new feature menus all the time, we’re always trying to keep it creative, mix it up and offer things other places aren’t offering,” she said.
The Cure has been regularly hosting pop-ups and coming up with creative ways to attract customers. (Daniel Reech/980 CJME)
When 11th Avenue was obstructed, Cairns said The Cure hosted pop-ups and other events around the city, and will continue hosting them in 2026.
“We’re going to be doing more of that next summer, I believe, just to offset the fact that weekends are generally slow in the summer. People go to those events or they go out of town, so it’s another factor, and a lot of our customers have been telling us that they avoided us in the summer,” she said.
Once the work is done, Cairns said, The Cure is looking forward to the planned development of affordable housing at the corner of Lorne Street and 11th Avenue.
“Should be great, that’s what we’ve always wanted,” Cairns said.
“More people around creates a sense of community and a neighbourhood feel. And that’s what we’re hoping will happen once these developments happen. So hopefully the street and the developments happen and then everything will be great.”
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