Fire marshal issues order to close new Saint John patios, city says
The City of Saint John says it disputes an order from the fire marshal to close the new covered patios at Market Square.
In a press release issued last Thursday, the city says it was informed of an order to close the patios effective immediately by the provincial office of the fire marshal. The patios opened June 1 while work continues on the Market Slip public space, which has been named Ihtoli-maqahamok – The Gathering Space.
"The City takes issue with this decision of the OFM as a thorough inspection of the space was completed prior to the patios opening," the release reads. "The City takes public safety seriously and has maintained a dedicated fire watch in the space as planned while remaining work on the exterior fire suppression and alarm system takes place this week."
In the release, the city said that the restaurants inside the building would remain open.
In a statement from provincial spokesperson Allan Dearing, the office of the fire marshal says it wants to work with the city "to reach a resolution as quickly as possible while ensuring safety."
"When a building design falls outside of code requirements, an engineer must develop an alternative solution," Dearing wrote. "The Saint John Boardwalk project falls into this category."
Dearing said a proposed alternative solution was approved by the office in the spring of 2024 but "the construction is not complete," and it does not have the sign-off of the project's fire protection engineer.
Previously, the patios were known as the "Boardwalk" next to Loyalist Plaza, and would host events such as Canada Day concerts.
The city's $33 million revitalization project began in 2022 and was supposed to wrap up last year, with temporary patios opening last summer as construction continued. Brunswick News reported in December that the opening was pushed to April or May, and then in April Saint John's CAO Brent McGovern told council the city was looking at a June date.
Saint John Ale House owner Jesse Vergen said his reaction was "complete disappointment, complete surprise." He said there was a scheduled event with 16 staff who had to be sent home.
"It was just sadness and anger. We've been through so much in the last five years in this spot," Vergen said, mentioning issues like COVID-19 shutdowns and the cost of mitigation and the initial patio closures, as well as the closure of neighbour McGill's in September last year.
He said the patios' opening was a "huge success" on Saturday and customers were excited to sit on the patios. He said that there was a security staff member present on the site 24/7 to supervise the site in case of fire, and that there were fire extinguishers on hand on the patio.
The project, when complete, is going to be a "jewel for Saint John" that's 30 years in the making, he said. But delays in the patio reopening were a "carrot constantly dangling" for business owners, and that they held the city to the promised June 1 date.
"We've lost so much money and we need to get open, we need to get back to a sense of normalcy," Vergen said.
He said he's looking for those who manage the project to tie up the remaining loose ends.
"This project's been going on way too long, I think people just need to move a little faster. We have a saying in the restaurant industry, 'people have to hustle.' "
He said they're a "summer business" with "very slim margins," and that they need to make as much revenue as they can to pay bills and staff during the slower winter months.
"I would like to apologize to all of our customers that showed up today expecting to come out on our beautiful patio," Vergen said. "We will be back to business, we will be back to the boardwalk."
Andrew Bates, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Telegraph-Journal
