Is downtown Vancouver becoming a retail dead zone?

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A high-end vintage consignment store in Vancouver’s downtown core is packing up and moving on after nearly a decade because of rising crime rates in the neighbourhood.

Mine & Yours luxury consignment’s original location on Howe Street is shutting down at the end of the month after crime forced their hand, said owner Courtney Watkins.

Watkins told customers on social media closing the Mine & Yours flagship location was “an incredibly difficult choice to make.”

“The decision to close Howe has come as the safety of our team and clients continues to be a growing concern, and we’ve accepted that the Howe Street we once knew isn’t coming back,” the store wrote on Instagram.

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“While the Howe Street store remains a customer favourite and has grown into a $1 million business, the neighbourhood has changed dramatically,” said Watkins in a release. “After enduring 10 broken windows over eight years, we’ve made the difficult decision to close this location and focus on our newer stores and online business.”

Watkins said the store’s problems are not unique.

“The downtown neighbourhood has unfortunately declined over time,” said Watkins. “Factors like safe injection sites across the street from the store and an overarching unsafe feel has become the norm. Numerous shop owners have experienced an increased rate of crime and break-ins in the area as well.”

CityLux, a women’s clothing boutique next door to Watkins’ store on Howe, has had similar difficulties.

The chaos “makes operating very, very difficult,” said owner Sunan Spriggs, who started the shop in 2016 and has since added a Toronto location.

Spriggs attributes the crime and vandalism — which her store has dealt with constantly as well — to the nearby overdose prevention site and too many damaged and desperate souls on the streets. “When you have users, you have low-level drug dealers, and the users have to afford their habit.”

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On top of broken windows and theft, CityLux has had to clear out users who walk right into the store to shoot up.

The problem is not isolated to Howe Street. Angela Tang, who has operated The Salon Beauty Bar for 15 years in Coal Harbour, said her windows have been smashed five times in recent years — the latest just last Friday — and she is increasingly worried for her safety and that of her staff and customers.

Having to lock the doors even during working hours and dealing with aggressive people at all hours of the day and night has Tang considering a similar move. Though spiralling operating costs and a post-COVID drop in business is a part of that, Tang said it’s more personal.

“It’s more of a safety issue,” said Tang. “I have so much anxiety in the evening. Who am I going to find at my door in the morning?”

Continuing in an area that bears no resemblance to the bustling pre-COVID neighbourhood it once was is “not worth the mental stress,” said Tang. “I can totally see why Mine & Yours made the decision. Vancouver is no longer safe.”

This surge in crime is not happening for lack of effort by Vancouver police. In 2023, the VPD launched Project Barcode to target violent shoplifters, theft and fencing operations moving stolen goods in mass quantities, especially through the Downtown Eastside.

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Hundreds of arrests have been made during multiple waves of enforcement, including a crackdown over the past few months in which investigators tracked stolen goods through fencing operations into individual homes, where the loot was then sold online. Five people were arrested and $650,000 in property, cash and drugs were seized.

VPD spokesperson Sgt. Steve Addison provided data for the 1000-block of Howe Street showing incidents have been on a steady climb this year, jumping to 205 calls for service in May alone — right after the overdose prevention site relocated to the block.

“We empathize with business owners, workers and residents who are impacted by street disorder and vandalism,” said Addison. “Their frustrations are legitimate and we share them.”

Addison said patrols have been increased in the neighbourhood and the VPD has deployed officers on bikes along with downtown community policing volunteers.

Police “come and they do their job, but it’s a Band-Aid solution,” said Spriggs. “The police are as frustrated as (everyone else). The (offenders) are going to be back on the street within days.”

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Asked whether the struggles have made her consider moving out like Mine & Yours, Spriggs is adamant. “And go where? This is my city, this is my livelihood. I’d rather fight for change at the government level than accept defeat.”

“We don’t need more proof, the proof is visible every day.” The only fix, said Spriggs, is longer sentences for property crimes and more long-term facilities to help addicts break the cycle. “I’ve got compassion for the addicted. They’re not enjoying their life.”

“I believe we can effect change,” said Spriggs. “I don’t know any business owner (in Vancouver) who thinks this is acceptable.”

Closing-out sale

Mine & Yours is no Sally Ann. The store — which will still have Vancouver locations in Yaletown and Kitsilano, one in Toronto and a growing online business — specializes in consignment items like Chanel handbags that go for $1,000 and more. Watkins started it in a live-work space over a decade ago before opening the first retail location at 1025 Howe St. in 2017.

And there is a silver lining in the Howe closure for vintage fashion fans. The store is having a closing-out sale starting June 14 to sell off racks full of brands like Gucci, Louis Vuitton and Jimmy Choo, with many items priced at $25, $50 and $100. (Not the Chanel bags; even during the sale, the collectibles go for $675 and up.) The sale then moves online on June 18.

jruttle@postmedia.com

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