Closed. Closed. Open. You can play your very own game of duck, duck, goose walking on Eglinton West. The only place that’s always open is Pizza Pizza on the corner. It’s Friday early afternoon and I’m doing a report on local businesses. The emptiness of Eglinton is broken up by a crowd of people on the sidewalk closer to Dufferin.
A lot of older folks are lining up at a local food bank set up by the Centro Cultural Latinoamericano. There’s barely enough room on the sidewalk to walk by as the crowd bunches up closer to the front doors of the small shop.
I have to cut through the food bank line to get into Ahad Shoes, a small shoe store a couple of shops from the food bank. When I saw their flyer in my mailbox, it made me want to go. The little shop is really trying to make a go of it. Inside the shop, there’s a variety of shoes. Fine leather. Sporty. Casual summer. Good prices too.
How’s business? I ask the manager. It’s ok, he says with a shrug. He told me the economy of the country is reflected on the street. “As the government goes down, so does the economy. Look outside,” he says. The food bank line goes past his front door. “This was two or three people before. Now look. This is the economy today,” he says. I ask him if any of these folks buy his shoes. He says no, with a chuckle, “But I’m ok with this. The people have to eat.”
I keep walking towards Caledonia and visit a store with red and yellow retro style fridges and stoves. I speak to William Oliveira. He tells me these sleek appliances are Canadian made. He says business has been slow since interest rates went way up. His appliance shop depends on houses and renovations. High interest rates meant a drop in home buying, and a drop in his business.
But what about the 40 storey condos planned for the major corners of the area? Nope. Condos won’t do it for William’s shop because developers use big box stores like Home Depot to fit them. K.W.A Appliances depends on fitting local houses.
I’m feeling a little down and then I learn that the local Brazilian café has closed down. The Girl from Ipanema. It was the only place to get a decent coffee in the area and I had written an article about it when they had just opened up. The café baked everything in house. Specialty foods and pastries. The owner, Thais, just had a baby. She put in everything she had into the place. Their Instagram page doesn’t exist anymore. Their website says, “permanently closed.”
It brings tears to my eyes, for Thais and for the neighbourhood.
Duck, duck, goose. We lose.
