The owner of a popular downtown Windsor nightspot has said more attention needs to be paid to small businesses dealing with crime.
Phog Lounge, located in a prime spot next to Windsor's historic Capitol Theatre, has been the repeated target of vandals, and its owner, Tom Lucier, is fed up.
The latest incident took place Sunday, as the Windsor International Film Festival (WIFF) was ending its triumphant return to in-person screenings for the first time since 2019. Lucier said he got a call from an employee who reported that one of the lounge's front windows was shattered.
Lucier told WindsorNewsToday.ca that a WIFF volunteer contacted one of his employees to say there was a person with apparent mental health challenges who was banging on the windows at the Capitol's box office next door, though it was not clear if this was the person responsible for the vandalism.
The bar owner believed that those who may be behind some of the problems downtown are those dealing with such issues.
"It's people who are requiring the help of mental health professionals," said Lucier. "These are people who are addicts, and these are people who are homeless who are living hard on the streets. I would say at least once a week, or, Jesus, way more than once a week, I'm seeing people high out of their minds on some bad stuff."
Lucier made it clear that he was pointing the finger at City Hall, accusing the City of paying too much attention to what he called "pet projects" like the restored Windsor streetcar on the riverfront.
"The message that is being sent to small business owners, especially downtown where the glut of people with these issues are, is that they don't care about downtown," said Lucier. "They don't care about small business owners. They don't care what downtown looks like."
Phog Lounge is not the only recent business to have been hit by alleged criminals. Milos Greek Grill on Wyandotte Street East in Walkerville was the target of a suspicious fire in the early morning hours of October 27. Milos' owner had posted on social media, days before the fire, that the restaurant had been recently hit with several break-ins.
Lucier said those incidents are commonplace because they have happened to him too.
"We had a graffiti artist do work on the back of the building, and our door is a big, grey block in the middle of it because someone pried it open with a crowbar," said Lucier. "I know about break-ins very well. I know about all of it."
---with files from Adelle Loiselle
