Toronto continues to be a city of neighbourhoods, and one of the places that this expression is best illustrated in the main street shopping strips that run through so many of these areas, from Leaside’s south Bayview strip to Little Jamaica on Eglinton and Thornhill village.
These areas not only characterize and give life to neighbourhoods, but they also create their own little economies. The shops and services employ local residents. They sponsor our sports teams and donate products for school raffles. These small local businesses are invaluable to communities, yet they continue to face immense challenges.
First, a pandemic, which still rages, although the health and safety measures have all but disappeared, and that was bad enough for local businesses. Combine that with a potential recession, inflation and general economic bad news, and you’ve got a potent mix that continues to challenge main street businesses ahead of the most important shopping time of the year.
Foxies Bakeshop opened up recently on the Mount Pleasant Road strip south of Eglinton Avenue East. Jessica and her sister Sarah (who asked that only their first names be used) started the business online, which “took off” during COVID, and they decided to open a brick-and-mortar shop.
They chose Mount Pleasant because of the community vibe. “It’s like a very tight-knit community,” Jessica said. “We like that kind of vibe, which I think is really helpful for small businesses.”
But they are now facing some serious cost increases thanks to inflation. “It’s pretty tough in the sense of our ingredients and costs: like butter alone has gone up crazy,” Jessica said. “But we are adapting.
In this environment with baked goods, inflation has definitely been tough.”
Maureen Sirois is the chair of the Eglinton Way BIA and president of the Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas (TABIA). According to Sirois, the situation is precarious.
“Businesses opened during the pandemic, but there are still vacancies, although a lot of the businesses in our BIA on Eglinton are older businesses, so they’ve sustained themselves,” she explained. “But I’ve spoken to some of my colleagues in other BIAs, and some of them are hanging on by their fingernails.”
After a brief surge following the easing of pandemic restrictions, retail sales began to fall over the summer. Now, with inflation and recession news every day, consumers are rightly concerned.
The federal government continues to offer grants to small storefront businesses, which began during the pandemic. The money flows through the City of Toronto, which donates staff time, through the Main Street Recovery and Rebuild initiatives.
The best-known initiative launched by the city is the popular CaféTO program. But there are others including the Retail Accelerator Program and the Vacant Commercial Space Rehabilitation Grant program.
It continues a long history of the city promoting local businesses dating back to the establishment of Business Improvement Areas back in 1970.
“We partnered with the federal government to put together a suite of programs and supports to really dial in on the specifics of how small businesses are being challenged,” said Lesley Vaage, manager, Main Street Initiatives, Economic Development & Culture – City of Toronto. “In total, it’s $18 million of funding from the federal government plus the City of Toronto’s contribution.”
Vaage added that the city hopes businesses take advantage of the funding. The owners of Foxies Bakeshop had no idea these initiatives even existed.
Sirois says it’s up to local residents to place a value on these main street businesses and the good they do in the community and act accordingly.
“It’s up to the customers to decide if they need to vote with their feet and their wallets,” she said. “The money that they spend on main street businesses stays in the community. It employs local people. So it’s vital that people continue to support us.”
