Cindy White, Castanet – Downtown Kelowna has been in the spotlight lately due to street crime and social disorder, but it doesn’t appear to be scaring off new investment.

​If the volume of new businesses setting up shop is any indication, things are looking up downtown as the summer tourist season approaches.

​Three new bars are opening in the 200 block of Bernard Avenue, and all but one of the commercial spaces at the base of Water Street by the Park have been leased out. The tenants will include a daycare and an ice cream shop.

​The owners of Room 272 Bar + Bites at 272 Bernard Ave. jumped at the chance to launch this year in such a prime location downtown.

​“I love it. Our family spends a lot of time down here, so to be able to get into this space, we thought was a big win for the location, and to participate in Meet Me on Bernard,” said co-owner Paige Gillingham.

​“It brings in a lot of business and atmosphere that we’re excited to bring to downtown Kelowna.”

​Her sentiment is echoed by Sara Campbell, the proprietor of Raw Action Oyster Bar, which is going in across the street at 231 Bernard Ave.

​“Somebody has taken over Salt & Brick, and there’s a couple of other little locations coming in, and I think that’s really going to bring a lot of people back into that part of Bernard, which is really exciting,” said Campbell.

​Room 272 Bar + Bites is expected to open in April, while Campbell hopes to have her oyster bar up and running by mid to late May.

​Gillingham has high hopes that tourists will flock to Kelowna this summer. “It has been a rough few years, but I think people have plans all over Canada to come here this summer,” she said.

​Passenger numbers at Kelowna International Airport are already well ahead of what was predicted this year. Interest in the Central Okanagan could ramp up even more as the tourism industry pitches the region to travellers coming to BC for the FIFA World Cup in Vancouver.

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Read the full article published by Castanet.