Results tagged “bengundy”

This week's grand opening of the first phase of the Shops of Summerhill wielded a small, but spirited, blow against the encroachment of big-box stores in urban Toronto. Previously known by locals for the past thirty-some years as "The Five Thieves," the European-style shops (a butcher, a baker, a fishmonger, a greengrocer, a florist, and a café) have been undergoing a painstaking restoration and renovation for over two years. Instead of tearing down the previously crumbling nineteenth-century storefronts, Woodcliffe—the shops' landlord and heritage preservation specialists—undertook the expensive and time-consuming project of retaining as much of the original structure as possible while updating the spaces for modern use. The project was long, dusty, and frustrating at times for the vendors, but by opening the new doors of four of the shops—Pisces Gourmet, Olliffe Fine Meats, sweetgrass flowers, MBCo—this week, they offer a small-box experience that will hopefully catch on across the city.