Hollowing out Glebe?
The permanent closing of the Glebe Apothecary, a much-appreciated local presence for 40 years, is a blow to the neighbourhood. The closure, the result of a fire suspected to be arson on March 24, is a disappointment to many. Not only is it a practical problem for its customers and patients with prescriptions, it feels like the passing of an era.
The Papery was also closed by a devastating fire on Boxing Day 2022, a year and a half ago. The Papery has stayed in business with its pop-up location upstairs at 858 Bank Street beside the Studio Sixty-Six Gallery, but it cannot be ideal for a thriving business to lose its beautiful corner of prime Glebe real estate. There have been no visible signs of renovation of the original site, and no word lately on any reopening.
A recent visitor to the Glebe commented on the number of vacancies on Bank Street. Indeed, if one looks at the four corners of Bank and Fifth, arguably a prime locale in Ottawa: on the northwest corner we have The Papery, closed now 18 months; the southwest corner has the now-defunct Score Pizza, with the “S” on the sign hanging askew; the northeast corner has a vacancy at 99 Fifth; it seems the southeast corner is the only one so far to have escaped the plague of closures.
Then there’s the Glebe Apothecary, still boarded up with a faint smell of smoke hanging in the air. Add to this the closing of The Good Cannabis Company, formerly Mrs Tiggy Winkles.
A vibrant community needs to refresh and regenerate itself – preferably with local businesses with strong personal ties to the neighbourhood that are in it for the long haul.
—Liz McKeen
