Downtown Winnipeg restaurateurs call for better safety after La Roca fire

A fire at La Roca early Friday has downtown Winnipeg restaurant owners raising safety concerns and questioning what needs to change.

The fire broke out Friday morning at La Roca, dealing yet another blow to the downtown restaurant scene and leaving the owner worried about safety.

“There was a break-in of a window. The alarm went off, we started looking at the camera, and nobody was found inside. Then we figured out somebody was on the patio. They keep telling us, ‘Come here, celebrate here, come downtown, let’s make downtown great again.’ This way? How?” said the La Roca owner, who asked not to be identified.

The fire started just before 6 a.m. Friday. Flames could be seen coming from the exterior of the building. It was under control about 40 minutes later. But when it comes to recent fires in the area, La Roca is not alone.

Last month, another downtown restaurant — Boujee — was forced to shut its doors after a fire. With two fires in a matter of weeks, both owners say they’re worried and question whether enough is being done to protect them.

“I feel like the security needs to be there all the time. We’ve reached out to police so many times, saying we need more patrols during the night or even during the day,” said Kanish Sood, owner of Boujee Restaurant and Bar.

Despite the damage, the owners say they’re not going anywhere, calling downtown their home and a place they still believe in.

“We still believe in downtown. We still believe the government will do good. But only believing won’t work — we want them to act. Downtown is really the heart of Winnipeg. We cannot let it die like that,” said the La Roca owner, who asked not to be identified.

Winnipeg police were not able to provide further information at this time. As for La Roca, the restaurant is open despite the fire and preparing for big crowds in town for the Grey Cup.

“With God’s grace, we are open today as well. We got the green light from the health department — they came in, they checked everything, and the interior is safe. We were only affected on the patio side. Luckily, the fire department played a really good role in that,” said the La Roca owner.