Thanks to guest blogger Gay Stephenson, Community Economic Development Coordinator at Woodgreen who is also a DECA Volunteer Extraordinaire. Follow Gay on twitter at @gaystephenson for a master class in community-building and loving your neighbourhood.
Our little neighbourhood is part of the friendliest, most welcoming commercial strip in Toronto, and we love our shops and businesses more than any other neighbourhood in the city. Heck, our little pocket has given birth to 32 pop-up shops in 3 years, helped launch a SWAP Alternative Gift pop-up for the holidays, AND turned out in droves to support refugees through the ETF4Syria Pop-up Hub! We understand that most small biz owners work long hours, pouring their heart and soul into creating a delightful place for us to shop, eat or play. So when a local business closes, we miss them and wonder what went wrong. Some stories are happy, some are sad.
This ebb and flow along Danforth East gives rise to some incredible opportunities for businesses ready to take the plunge. Our past wish lists have included a fish market (did you know we can buy fish at Stock-in-Trade?) Other requests included book store, more coffee shops (and now we have Press), and more restaurants/pubs (in 2015 Local 1794 & Fourth Avenue Kitchen and Bar, and The Shore Leave tiki bar opened). Our neighbourhood is coming of age! What more could we ask for? You tell us… as you read on, think about what else you dream of, then send us a tweet or post to our Facebook page. The pop-up shop team would love to hear from you!
Congratulations and best wishes to Gus who closed his used appliance shop and retired after more than 30 years in business. He sold the building at 1841 Danforth and the store is currently available for lease. It’s just one door away from the new Fresh Paint Studio & Cafe and an opportunity for some lucky business owner.
Farewell to Justin and Hannah of Signature Sushi at 1524 Danforth who sold their business in December to another young couple. The new owners have added a stunning new sign. This was a much loved local spot, and the new owners are receiving rave reviews. Have you tried it yet?! A warm welcome to Yanagi Sushi.
This year we also said goodbye to much loved, Danforth Sandwich, Almanqal Shawarma, East Lynn Antiques, Kind Exchange and Bellalite. We’ll miss you! (Although, a new sign up at Danforth Sandwich says it is under new management and will reopen soon! Stay tuned.)
On the other hand, if you know a business looking to move east, these are super locations: 1989 Danforth is currently for sale and 1912, 2116, & 2038 Danforth are available for lease. Who knows what spring will bring to #DanforthEast.
New Store Alert! We love sharing these messages on Facebook and Twitter to celebrate the new additions. Every new business opening causes a stir of excitement in our neighbourhood.
In December we welcomed the fabulous new Hollandaise Diner to 2321 Danforth Ave between Woodbine and Main.
We can now add theatre, yes THEATRE to the list of fabulous things to do in our ‘hood! Welcome to the Coal Mine Theatre at 1454 Danforth near Monarch Park. Tickets to A Winter’s Tale are on sale until Feb. 20th, $25-35, or on Sundays pay what you can.
Fresh Paint Studio and Cafe’s opening on Feb 6th was a great success! Find them at 1849 Danforth Ave, Tues – Saturday, 11am-9pm and Sunday, 12-5pm.
Broad, a new lingerie and swimsuit shop is a specialty shop for women with fuller busts is set to open in March at 1763 Danforth beside In This Closet. Sam Conover, owner of Broad says that she always knew she wanted to be in the east end. Why bras? “It’s something most women wear every day. I want to make sure people have access to something that fits and feels good”. With ten years experience as a bra fitter at In My Sister’s Closet, Sam plans to keep prices as accessible as she can with a good selection under $100.
Vilnes Aveda Salon is now open. Located at 1436 Danforth Ave beside The Pillow Shoppe. Dalia moved east from Pape and Danforth and her customers are following her here! A new sign is on the way and you can reach her at 416-421-1932.
**This just in: The Firkin On Danforth opened yesterday in the condo at Woodbine & Danforth!**
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Check out our list of extraordinary past and present pop-up shops here. We’re proud of our contributions to the revitalization of Danforth East. In 2015, three of our pop-ups became permanent fixtures and the vacancy rate on our strip has gone from 17% down to less than 9% since we started this project. Yippee! (By the way, not only does this make our strip more appealing for shopping/dining, it also increases safety in our neighbourhood by increasing foot traffic.)
And that’s not all… the Danforth Mosaic BIA is rolling out their marketing plans for local businesses, with the theme: “You’ll love what you find here!”
We sure do. Don’t be shy, why not recommend some of our local businesses to your friends? Word of mouth and social media will help our small, original locals grow & flourish, in a digital world.
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