What will it take to save Hess Village?
Crowds in Hamilton's entertainment district down by an estimated 50% or more
Hess Village has been hemorrhaging patrons for years.
Crowds in what was once the city's sole nightlife entertainment destination have been shrinking since 2012, with some estimating they're down by more than half.
Hess' reputation has taken a beating too, as some lament the loss of a more pub-focused village, and decry the current iteration as too loud, crass, and even violent.
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But in the face of that adversity – and a seemingly never ending paid duty policing issue with the city – club owners have banded together to change the image, vibe and offerings in Hess with more live music and a greater attention to food.
But how did we get to this point, and what needs to be done to get people back in Hess Village?
Live music is changing people's view of what Hess Village is again.- Scott McDonald, owner, Che
Che Burrito and Lounge owner Scott McDonald has lived in Hess for 20 years, and been running his bar for the last nine years. One of the biggest issues the area faces, he says, is Hamilton's now more varied entertainment offerings.
"It's an oversaturated market. It's very competitive," McDonald said. It wasn't always that way. For years, Hess was the only game in town – but with more bars now on Augusta and King William as well as Sarcoa in the picture, more people than ever before are fighting for the same amount of patrons.
Around three years ago, McDonald really started to notice the overall attendance inside the village was waning – it got to the point where there were about 1,100 people in all of Hess on a August Saturday night last year.
"That was the real low point," he said. "It showed that we really needed to step up and make things happen."
The battle for public perception
According to a motion from Ward 2 Coun. Jason Farr that's aimed at creating a pilot project where the city would pay 65 per cent of the area's paid duty policing costs, Hess now only employs about 250 people, where once 500 people were working there.
There are also currently 12 bars in a space zoned for 17 — and considering the city has invested heavily in the area infrastructure-wise and the clubs pay taxes to all three levels of government, that's not good news.
Those numbers are "approximate," though, and based largely on anecdotal evidence. Hamilton police doesn't keep any data on crowd levels in Hess – something councillors have requested in response to Farr's motion.
Regardless, club owners all agree crowds are down – and perception has a lot to do with that, says Dean Collett, one of the owners of Sizzle/Koi and Diavolo.
"We're given this horrible reputation of being this petri dish where bad things happen, and it just isn't true," Collett says. "It never ceases to astound me."
CBC Hamilton asked people both on Twitter and Facebook this week if they go to Hess Village, or if they used to go but stopped, and why. You can read their answers and chime in, too:
Hundreds of people responded, with some saying that they believe the area is too violent. Both Collett and McDonald say that can be attributed to negative media coverage of violent crime in the vicinity they believe had nothing to do with Hess' patrons.
Some others said they felt Hess is frequented solely by people in their early 20s or younger, which was problematic for them. McDonald says he sees many demographics represented in Hess Village, while Collett said to "completely discount our demographic is unfair and wrong."
Bring back the pubs, bring back live music
Overwhelmingly, the people who did respond said they disliked the area's move from pubs to clubs, which decidedly changed the atmosphere of the village. It's been about 10 years or so since Hess became largely club based, and that happened because there was a greater demand for DJs over live music at the time, McDonald says.
But after a decade of electronic music and heavy bass, live music is once again making its way back to Hess Village. New venues like Big Texas Bar and Grill and the Bourbon and Brass Speakeasy now have live bands, alongside stalwarts like the Lazy Flamingo that still had live music.
McDonald is also part of a group bringing music festivals back to Hess Village. This June they're hosting "Hesstival," a free, all-day street festival focusing on bringing arts, music and culture back to Hess.
The lineup includes hip-hop artist K-os, alongside Hamilton artists like the Dinner Belles, Laura Cole, Tongue Fu, Hachey the MouthPeace and more.
"Live music is changing people's view of what Hess Village is again," McDonald said. "It's a big community building experience." Both bar owners also lauded the kitchens up and down the entertainment strip for upping their game and introducing revamped, improved menus.
"We're really excited about it," Collett said.
But even with those improvements, there's still the $115,000 elephant in the room – the paid duty police bill that bar owners have to pay each year as part of the city's current bylaw.
Until that issue is somehow dealt with, Collett says, it will be difficult for the area to move forward in a positive way.
"It needs to be dealt with once and for all."