With sales at his store exceeding expectations, businessman Steven Sadurah believes Little India at Main Street and 49th Avenue could face an upswing in fortune.
News of businesses exiting the community for lower leases in Surrey surfaced last year following a B.C. Assessment report indicating property values were down 15 per cent in the area. Some businesses noticed the decline as early as 10 years ago.
Training in his father’s shop as a goldsmith since 13, Sadurah has seen the economic tide ebb from the community’s height with 22 jewellery stores down to six, including his own DK Royal Jewellers and his family’s A-Class Fine Jewellers that’s supported by a steady customer base from Vancouver, Richmond and Burnaby.
“There’s been a lot of news, in the past, about how Main Street is becoming a ghost town and such because all the businesses have left. But that’s not the case, actually. It’s getting better, it’s improving and there is new development here on Main Street,” says Sadurah.
That new development is a six-storey residential complex proposed at the corner where All India Sweets & Restaurant sits. With retail spaces proposed on the ground floors, Sadurah expects the area could look like Fraser and 49th Avenue.
Similar to Fraser Street, the term Little India could fade as more ethnicities move in. Ashok Dhingra, co-owner of Nurmahal Fashions and Fabrics Ltd., has been in business for 15 years and says last year was one of their most profitable. He attributes their success to having a larger product mix to satisfy clients from Iran and friends of Indo-Canadians who attend Indian weddings and events.
Although the community is “not that vibrant anymore,” Dhingra believes the area has hit bottom and is bound to grow. Although his business thrived from having less competition, he says more residents and diverse stores will prevent clients from seeking their needs elsewhere.
Anja Mesic, a longtime South Vancouver resident, agrees the neighbourhood is ethnically more diverse than 12 years ago when she moved in, but she still travels to Fraser Street and Oakridge Mall for household necessities unavailable on Main and 49th.
In contrast to the support the Fraser Street businesses receive from belonging to the South Hill BIA, there are no concerted efforts to revive Little India. Initiatives like a car-free festival to draw crowds to the area, something Sadurah wants to see happen, are up to owners like him.
South Hill BIA executive director Moira McCulloch says Main Street business are at a disadvantage.
“There are many businesses that belong to new immigrants that may not have in-depth understanding of the way banking works and BIA can certainly facilitate education and information in that regard,” says McCulloch.
“A business may not understand how to improve their level of customer service, a BIA could arrange a workshop, a small discussion group on how a small business can think differently about how they market their business.”
