Lowertown neighborhood sees business closures, challenges

A St. Paul neighborhood is navigating challenges in recent years to keep restaurants open as they face another closure.

Just within the last couple years, at least five restaurants have closed in Lowertown.

A business owner near CHS Field who didn’t want to go on camera told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS he feels crime is contributing to the closures, showing pictures of drug use right in front of his restaurant.

Some business owners and residents agree it’s not an easy fix, but leadership must provide the solution.

“I’ve been here since 1990. I have seen a whole gamut of things,” Crystal Meriwether, Lowertown resident, said.

Through decades of changes in Lowertown, Meriwether weathered every storm that came her way.

“I was here when we started with a plaza, which was a wonderful retail center with miniature golf, a movie theater, great restaurants,” she said.

Those once-vibrant storefronts now fade into the background.

“It’s very sad. That’s the one thing that so many restaurants have gone out after COVID, and it used to be a lot livelier,” Kay Thomas, Lowertown resident, said.

Closed signs popping up on cleared-out businesses are greeting customers more often.

After 15 years, Barrio called it quits in early September.

Within the last couple years, Handsome Hog, Noyes and Cutler, and Big Biscuit served their last meals in the area.

“No one in the community feels good about them going away, or any business, really, there been too many,” Joe Baierl, Lowertown resident, said.

Residents believe remote work and the perception of crime is driving low foot traffic.

“The perception that downtown is a dangerous place and I’ve never been confronted,” Meriwether said.

“We felt safe throughout our 6 years here,” Baierl said.

Residents suggest more investment in the neighborhood is the answer.

Baierl suggested developing an economic plan that includes fixing up some of the buildings and beautifying the streets.

“It will be a long process in my opinion,” Baierl said.

“I think our mayor needs to take more time to attend to downtown. He started to do that with the Lowry building, and I would like to see him do more,” Meriwether said.

Earlier this year, the St. Paul Downtown Alliance proposed a plan to expand their safety ambassadors to cover other areas including Lowertown to help revitalize the area.