By IAN ROSS
When Steve Alexander and Jennifer Bellerose migrated home to the Sault they realized they were giving up the urbane big city culture they had come to treasure.
After living in Ottawa for six years and travelling the world for another year, they missed talking about the arts and culture with other like-minded people. They found there was no gathering place in town to socialize.
For Alexander, an architect and artist, and Bellerose, a hospital kinesiology. It was all the inspiration the young 30-ish couple needed to come up with a concept for a one-of-a-kind art gallery and bar.
“We thought, why can’t something like this exist in Sault Ste. Marie?,” says Bellerose.
Since opening Loplop Gallery and Lounge on Queen Street three years ago, their place has become a popular venue for art exhibit openings, fundraisers, after work functions, wine tastings and concert venue for touring musicians.
More than few heads were turned one night two years ago when the American hip hop group The Black Eyed Peas -- minus Fergie -- strolled into the place to sample the environment while on a cross-Canada trek.
The couple wanted to create a cool, hip place with inspiring decor, high quality spirits and suds, that offered an eclectic mix of original blues, jazz, Celtic, folk, roots, and country music where the atmosphere, and even the crowd, changes on a nightly basis.
“That’s reflective of what art is,” says Alexander.
While working full-time day jobs, the first-time entrepreneurs spent 14 months of evenings and weekends pouring their sweat equity into renovating a Queen Street deli-bar into Loplops.
A loplop is the name of the bird-like character that was the alter ego of German Dadaist and surrealist artist Max Ernst.
They jokingly call their efforts a “forced design-build,” doing their own tile work and having to craft pieces of discarded scrap material into furnishings like a bar top.
“It was a struggle,” says Alexander. “Two young people with no experience and no track record opening up an art bar.”
“It was frustrating, but we found creative ways of doing it,” says Bellerose.
Both find it quite amusing they won a chamber of commerce marketing award considering they’ve never had enough money to advertise through mainstream radio and print media.
Through creative uses of web marketing, a bi-monthly newsletter, in-house promotions and word of mouth, Loplop is part of the new generation of business that’s setting up shop along Queen Street.
The Sault’s downtown is undergoing the same transition that other cities in the Wal-Mart era have undergone as shoppers have abandoned downtowns for malls and Big Box stores.
The Downtown Association is working on a blueprint for a Queen Street facelift with a neighbourhood concept featuring upscale studio apartments, specialty stores, fine dining and a strong arts and entertainment district.
There are already signs of improvement as many vacant buildings are being renovated for new retail and existing businesses are moving into larger spaces.
In mid-April, the downtowners were taking their redevelopment plan to city councillors to get their approval to access federal and provincial funding.
By taking a page from North Bay’s award-winning downtown revitalization strategy, the Sault plan will offer financial incentives to encourage property owners to fix up their building facades.
Other money is being pooled for street-scaping and public art programs, laneway improvements and to hire a professional designer and architect on a contract basis.
“The funding is falling into place rather well,” says City planner Don McConnell, who’s helping to spearhead the downtown revitalization program. “We’re trying to encourage major development and redevelopment, while maintaining the existing housing stock.”
With municipal approval, there may be $285,000 coming from the City over three years with a matching amount from FedNor. The Sault also qualifies for a further $570,000 from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs through their Rural Economic Development Program.
Alexander and Bellerose say there’s much work to be done to convince downtown merchants to take the same chances they did and see the value in making the investment.
“The talking and gathering stages are interesting, it’s the doing stages that are really going to be what defines the downtown,” says Alexander.
