The charred remains of Hermanos Restaurant and Wine Bar stand as the latest casualty in what many business owners describe as downtown Winnipeg’s deteriorating safety situation. Last week’s fire, which gutted the decade-old South American steakhouse on Bannatyne Avenue, has reignited conversations about the challenges facing the city’s core.
“Downtown has become unsafe,” says Noel Bernier, who owns Hermanos along with several other downtown establishments. Standing amid the smoke-damaged interior where diners once enjoyed Argentinian cuisine, Bernier’s frustration was palpable. “We’ve been dealing with break-ins, vandalism, and now this. It’s becoming impossible to operate a business here.”
The Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service responded to the blaze around 4:30 a.m. last Thursday, containing the fire before it spread to neighboring businesses in the Exchange District. While investigators haven’t officially determined the cause, preliminary reports suggest it may have originated near the restaurant’s back entrance, where business owners have reported increased loitering and drug use in recent months.
Kate Fenske, CEO of the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ, acknowledges the growing concern. “We’ve heard from over 40 business owners this year alone about safety issues affecting their operations,” she told me during a community meeting held at the Millennium Library. “The perception of downtown as unsafe is hurting foot traffic, which directly impacts these small businesses already recovering from the pandemic.”
Recent data from the Winnipeg Police Service shows a 28% increase in property crimes in the downtown area compared to pre-pandemic levels. Perhaps more telling is that foot traffic remains approximately 35% below 2019 numbers, according to pedestrian counts conducted by the Downtown BIZ.
For Dave Pensato, executive director of the Exchange District BIZ, the fire highlights deeper systemic issues. “We’re seeing the collision of housing insecurity, mental health challenges, and addiction playing out on our streets,” he explains. “Business owners like Noel become collateral damage in what’s fundamentally a public health and social services crisis.”
City councillor Sherri Rollins, whose Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry ward borders downtown, points to ongoing efforts to address these challenges. “We’ve allocated an additional $1.2 million in this year’s budget for downtown safety initiatives, including expanded community patrol programs and better lighting,” she says. “But we need provincial partners to step up with meaningful investments in mental health and addiction services.”
The provincial government recently announced a $240 million investment in health and mental health services, though critics note that only a fraction directly addresses street-level interventions in the downtown core. Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew, touring the area last month, committed to “a renewed focus on urban safety” but provided few specifics beyond existing programs.
For the employees of Hermanos, the immediate concern is more personal. “I’ve lost my job, my work family, and a place that felt like home,” says Mariana Escobar, a server who had worked at the restaurant for seven years. “Twenty-eight of us are now wondering what happens next.”
Bernier faces a difficult decision about whether to rebuild. Insurance will cover some losses, but the emotional toll and uncertainty about downtown’s future weigh heavily. “We survived COVID. We adapted to changing dining habits. But how do we plan for this level of unpredictability?” he asks, gesturing toward the water-soaked dining room where firefighters battled the blaze.
The fire at Hermanos joins a troubling pattern. Last year, the historic Fortune Building on Main Street suffered significant damage in what investigators determined was arson. Several smaller businesses, including a beloved coffee shop on Portage Avenue and a family-owned convenience store near the University of Winnipeg, closed permanently after repeated break-ins made insurance prohibitively expensive.
Local resident Jordan Pereira, who lives in a nearby apartment building, expressed concern about what these closures mean for neighborhood viability. “When we lose restaurants like Hermanos, we lose more than just dining options. We lose gathering spaces, jobs, and the sense that this is a functioning community,” he said while watching cleanup crews at work.
Community advocates point to successful models from other Canadian cities facing similar challenges. Edmonton’s Downtown Recovery Coalition has shown promising results through coordinated approaches combining business support, social services, and targeted policing. In Saskatoon, the LINK program pairs police officers with mental health professionals to better respond to street-level crises.
As Winnipeg searches for its own solutions, the owners of neighboring businesses watch nervously. “Every time something like this happens, it sets us back months in terms of public perception,” says Liam McKenzie, who operates a small gallery two blocks from Hermanos. “We need immediate action, not more consultations and studies.”
For now, a makeshift memorial of flowers rests against the restaurant’s boarded-up entrance. A handwritten note attached reads simply: “We miss you already. Please come back.“
Whether Hermanos—or downtown Winnipeg’s once-vibrant dining scene—can recover remains an open question in a community searching for both immediate safety and long-term solutions.
