Published: January 13, 2009 09:27 pm      

NIAGARA FALLS: Who's on Third? Fewer businesses

Third Street continues to lose business, future in question

When it comes to Third Street, Donatello’s Restaurant has a monopoly on the sale of pizza and chicken wings.

But that thought brings a hearty laugh to owner Steve Fournier Sr.

“If that’s the case, then I should be doing five times the business,” he said, “but there’s no population down here.”

Donatello’s is among a handful of longtime businesses that have managed to survive along the Third Street corridor between Niagara Street and Ferry Avenue — a section baptized as downtown’s new entertainment district following the completion of a $3.7 million streetscape in 2005. Since then, the street has tallied a lot more failures and closings than ribbon cuttings.

Ironically, the most recent closing was considered by many as a positive change to the street. Club New York, a popular hot spot with a reputation for attracting problems and criminal activity, apparently caved in to public pressure and shut its doors in December. Operator Louis Bax reportedly did not renew the lease with building owner Joseph Anderson.

While the removal of its most controversial attraction has been lauded by most city officials and law enforcement officers, some point out it’s still another failure for a street that has had too many already.

“I consider it a bad thing because that’s another vacant building,” said Fournier’s son, Steve Fournier Jr., who serves on the City Council.

Shawn Weber, co-owner of Wine on Third located across the street from Club New York, declined to comment on its closing but admitted it will likely have a positive effect on his business.

“You never like to see someone go out of business but the activities that went on around Club New York hurt our business,” Weber said.

Debate over whether Club New York’s closing was a positive or negative aside, the main topic of discussion among Third Street businesses continues to be how to survive and attract customers.

“The reality is, if Third Street is like it is today two or three years from now, the Wine Bar will not be there, it will be closed, no doubt about it,” Weber said.

Though Third Street has struggled for decades, critics say the streetscape project in 2005 is to blame for much of the current struggles to create a large customer base and attract more development. That project, conducted by the state’s USA Niagara Development Corp., included a narrower street design, new lights, trees and signage. However the elimination of most of the on-street parking has been a thorn in the side of remaining business such as Donatello’s, the Tap Room, Third Street Liquors and the Indian cuisine restaurants.

Fournier Sr. said he’s been told countless times by longtime customers they had planned on stopping in Donatello’s for lunch but could not find parking in front of the restaurant. Instead, owners have to hope customers will park somewhere down the street and walk past dozens of boarded-up buildings.

Meanwhile, the completion of the streetscape project sent property values skyrocketing, leaving existing operators struggling to pay their bills and land speculators on the street holding on to vacant parcels in hopes of a big payday.

“Our assessments have tripled, nobody can afford the rents,” Fournier Sr. said.

His son, who recently closed Cafe Etc. next door to Donatello’s and is attempting to sell the building, believes it’s going to take more than one or two new businesses opening sporadically to save Third Street.

“What you need down there is two or three people to come together, or a large development company, to purchase all of the vacant property and open a variety of businesses at the same time, like restaurants, bars and places to shop,” Fournier Jr. said. “Right now, there’s too many people down there not on the same page. If you worked together, you could create a theme and establish some sort of uniformity.”

Weber disagrees the fate of rebuilding Third Street rests in the hands of a large development company.

“Niagara Falls always waits for the big developer and the big developer never comes,” he said. “Instead of sitting around, the city and state need to focus on the smaller development and help them.”

Weber believes projects such as the upcoming opening of Cafe Lola are key to creating a traffic flow on Third Street. Located next door to the Wine Bar, but in the same building, Cafe Lola will offer specialty coffee and lunch selections, among other menu items.

“We opened up Wine On Third in June 2007 with the anticipation there would be more businesses coming, but since then there’s been less,” Weber said. “At this point there doesn’t seem to be any type of marketing effort from the state or city to promote Third Street as a viable place to do business. There’s opportunities down there but the street has had a crummy reputation for years.”

Niagara Falls Economic Development Director Peter Kay said the city is planning a more active role in marketing all of downtown, including Third Street, in the upcoming months. However, he said the sagging economy, a lack of city resources to offer financial incentives and the amount of vacant buildings already lining the entertainment strip will make it difficult to attract new development.

“It’s going to take a fair investment to turn that area around,” Kay said, “but it’s always going to be a high priority until we get it fixed.”

Asked if the city is currently in discussion with any potential developers for that area, Kay answered “not that we can talk about.” Referring to Club New York’s past problems, Kay added the city needs to be selective on the type of new businesses operating on Third Street.

“It’s not only that we have to create a number of different activities,” he said, “we have to make sure it’s a very positive and safe environment for everyone.”