Crews from HBO's "The Last of Us" tear down sets and work to return Nanaimo's Commercial St. back to it's former glory on Thursday, May 16. Commercial St. will be fully re-opened by Friday, May 17. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Jordan Davidson

last of the last of us

‘Really happy they came:’ HBO’s ‘The Last of Us’ vacating Nanaimo’s downtown

May 16, 2024 | 4:17 PM

NANAIMO — After a few days of closures downtown, HBO’s production of ‘The Last of Us’ is moving on from the Harbour City.

Filming for the popular show was first revealed at the end of April, shutting down businesses and roads on Commercial St. as crews transformed the area into a post-apocalyptic wasteland, with full building sets constructed in Diana Krall Plaza.

Owner of Red Shelf Decor Steven Johns was one of the Commercial St. businesses which closed for the six days of prep work and filming, with his storefront decorated by production crews.

“People are excited this took place in downtown Nanaimo and I think the effects are just going to be more and more positive,” said Johns. “Overall, really happy they came and it was fun.”

After a bit of cleanup, Johns said they are back open as of Thursday, May 16.

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“I got the first break I’ve had in five years, it was nice to have a complete break. So far, so good, we’re back [Thursday], the production company has done a good job of cleaning up and we’re super happy with how things went.”

Workers getting their patio back in place along Commercial St. on Thursday, May 16. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Other downtown businesses outside the closed-off area were also mostly happy with the production and filming schedule.

Mac, a ‘crepe ninja’ from Ironworks Cafe & Creperie, had a prime view of the action looking south down Commercial St. from their location at the northeast corner of Bastion St.

“We got a lot of crew coming in, we got to ask some questions and be a bit nosey,” said Mac. “Some of our regulars didn’t get a chance to come in and see it, it was a bit of a shame with the way the roads were closed but we did end up with some new people who were really excited.”

Owner of Artzi Stuff on Church St. Tanya Streeter also noticed an increase in foot traffic.

“I found it was a little bit busier than I think it would be this time of year, possibly because there were extra people coming downtown to watch, or possibly because the tourists in town…only had this little area to come shop at.”

Leon Drzewiecki of NYLA Fresh Threads was able to take amazing photos of Commercial St. facing south during filming from the roof of his business on May 12. He said it was “really neat, because you could kind of see it from day to day, hour to hour, week to week.” (Leon Drzewiecki)

Owner of NYLA Fresh Threads Leon Drzewiecki said film crews did a good job keeping people out of the closed-off areas, with plenty of looky-loos milling about trying to catch a glimpse of the show’s stars.

He said despite the added attention, foot traffic to their store was actually down overall.

“We definitely had a lot of the production crew coming through the store and shopping a little bit there. Our sales did suffer for sure having everything shut down around downtown, but at the same time it’s a short-term problem and long term I think it’ll be really great for Nanaimo.”

However, his impressive rooftop photos have already impacted his business short-term after the pictures went viral, racking up “millions of views” as of Thursday afternoon, according to Drzewiecki.

“We’re getting a lot more traffic through our online store, our Instagram and Facebook pages, lots more follows which will hopefully translate into sales in the future.”

However, not every business owner was thrilled with the production.

Owner of Fitz Avenue Night & Day Boutique Cindi Cameron said confusion over the dates and times businesses were closed started when the schedule was released in early April.

She was concerned people assumed stores were closed for the entire six-week filming schedule.

“It has been very, very dead down here. We have been dead because of all the road construction since September, so nine months of nobody, and then you start getting busier in May because it’s spring and hot weather, and then the production comes in and it’s almost like a ghost town even worse.”

Cameron has been in her Commercial St. location just off Terminal Ave. for three years now, and said this April and May have been her worst months on record.

While it’s been only a day since crews began moving out, Cameron said she has seen new people come downtown, but not to shop.

“They’re coming down and doing their Instagram posts and there’s pictures all over social media everywhere, but I don’t know if they think that everybody’s closed, right?”

Commercial St. was almost back to normal Thursday morning as production crews clear out and clean up following six days of filming, and about a month of prep work. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

‘The Last of Us’ is based on a 2013 video game of the same name, with season two expected to follow the game’s 2020 sequel. It tells the story of a global pandemic caused by a mass fungal infection through central characters Joel (played by Pedro Pascal) and Ellie (played by Bella Ramsey).

While some businesses were open on Thursday, Commercial St. will be fully re-opened by Friday, May 17, while some crew members will stick around until the end of May for clean-up and post-production work.

Skinner St. off Bastion St. was the focal point for filming on Monday, May 13, with set decorations transforming the area. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By the morning of May 16, Skinner St. was almost back to normal as film crews moved on. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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jordan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @JordanDHeyNow