This old corner store on Sorauren finally closed down recently after 40 years of business.
The
old Ukranian lady that ran the place made most of her money from
cigarettes and bootlegging beer out the back door. The interior is
virtually untouched as the exterior signage.
The day it sold someone came in a and stripped all of the vintage displays and pushbars .
The day it sold someone came in a and stripped all of the vintage displays and pushbars .
The store has recently re-opened as an organic plant store.Sadly the interior of the store was ripped out last week....
The final days....
The bin arrived last week so I knew the store's days were numbered..
I came home last night after work to find the entire facade of the store ripped out.
I had a look in the bin for anything salvageable but the workers had gone at it like rottweilers at a cat show.
And so it goes.
Posts
Until three years ago, we lived above another storefront exactly one block north of this place. The buildings weren't identical - our was three stories while this one is two, and the retail shop in our building had been reopened as a cafe. Still, at night we would get drunk Eastern European dudes knocking at our door after 1am demanding to see the old lady. When you're that pissed up, I guess one block doesn't make much difference.
ReplyDeleteIt is often the interiors of building which contain the historical significance. I know of an old flour and feed store which contained grain elevators, beautiful hardwood floors and more. The store was designated as a heritage building. Unfortunately this only applies to exteriors, not the interiors of buildings . The old flour and feed store was gutted and is of very little historical value. Very sad that Ontario has failed in keeping its heritage.
ReplyDeleteA few years ago I chased some kids out of the store who were trying to steal something (I don't know what, as all the stock was at least 10-15 years old) The old lady came over to my house later and gave me a beer as thanks. Black Ice. But you're right, Rick, a steady stream of early morning boozers.
ReplyDeleteWhy on earth could a plant store not keep and use the shelves ?
ReplyDeleteMakes me mad.
The plant store moved out and relocated to Queen....
ReplyDeleteThe neighbours are curious as to the future of the store.
Good Post GBC. It's Truly sad to see these classic interiors slowly disappear.
ReplyDeleteSad. When it was for sale a few years back and we were living a block north I tried to convince the wife that we should buy it - I imagined the store as a pretty fabulous living room, the shelves full of books. Didn't happen, of course - we probably couldn't have afforded the asking price, which is why we ended up moving out of the neighbourhood. I wonder what's planning to take it over?
ReplyDeleteI know a few people who looked at it. I think it went for 700,000 or so...I'll keep my eye on it as I want to know what's going on in the neighbourhood.
ReplyDeleteYour old apt on the corner has had a serious makeover in the last 2 months. All new windows etc. So something is planned for that retail space.
I should have said the building just north of your old apartment.
ReplyDeleteYeah - I saw they were excavating the basement out; also, they repaired the leaking drains on the roof that were destroying the brickwork on the north wall. I don't even want to think about the damage that false sumac growing into our backyard did to the foundation of that building, since like most false sumacs it chose to root itself right where the brickwork met the dirt. I'm pretty certain there must be a new owner.
ReplyDeleteFunny, but we knew almost none of our neighbours when we lived there; up here in Corso Italia, we know almost all of them. North Parkdale/High Park West/Roncesvalles just isn't THAT friendly a neighbourhood.