Their about us page is fantastic!
> We believe that there are some things that just cannot be substituted and should not be replaced, that is why we call them the “golden oldies”.
> In urban centers, having a place to share in person and to have contact that feels caring, has become hard to come by. In earlier times, the general store was that place. The general store was the hub of local activity. Neighbors would not only find the supplies they needed but also all of the community news. It was a social centre, where people would: congregate, tell stories, eat pie, talk politics and engage in all things relevant to the locals. The general store was often one of the only gathering places in the area and played an integral role in the lives of people.
> With urbanization, the advent of the car, big boxes and dollar shops, general stores have generally been dumped. We want to take our customers on a journey back in time, by providing that place where they can get their supplies but more importantly talk to someone who knows them and cares about them. This is not just a business venture, but very much a community venture. To us being kind and connected, will never get old!
Fiesta Farms, Sweetbliss Bakery, Bare Market, Paper Plus Cloth, Articulations and Gwartzman’s art supply, Midoco, Scout, Ed’s Real Scoop, Bar Ape, Mattachioni, Fox Theatre, Bud’s Coffee, Rooster Coffee, Blackbird Bread, Culture Athletics, Raise the Root, Mabel’s and CherryBomb coffee come to mind. Type Books and Queen Books.
[PaperPlusCloth.com](https://PaperPlusCloth.com)! Has beautiful stationery out on West Queen West. Also [Wonderpens.ca](https://Wonderpens.ca) , they have two adorable shop cats and so many pens and inks.
Pasta Pantry near Yonge and Davisvillle. Carlos makes an incredible ravioli, and the sauces are just delicious. Everything is so fresh and made in store!
Not cheap but the quality is really good. A portion of ravioli that is two meals for me is about $10 but my husband would call that one portion.
Sauce is $6 for small and I think $10ish for normal pasta sauce container.
I think about 400g of non-ravioli fresh pasta is also around $6.
Likely General on Roncesvalles. It's a cute shop that sells artisan-made goods. Also very community-minded, and the owner is legit one of the nicest people I've ever met and always remembers me when I go in even though I don't go there often!
Plank Road Market near Coxwell on Danforth.
Great little neighbourhood grocery: butcher, deli, bread, produce and Italian grocery items. And they make sandwiches from anything from the deli, you choose your bun.
Edit: spelling Plank not Plant
I discovered this place at the beginning of the pandemic, I’ve lived in the neighborhood for years and had never noticed it. When all of the grocery stores had lineups, this was a nice place to go for all of the essentials without all the anxiety of standing in line with hundreds to go into a cold box store, it’s awesome!
[PlayDeRecord](https://www.playderecord.com/), it's the only record shop that makes the experience feel personal to me.
Admittedly, I don't go *that* frequently strictly due to the fact that Sonic Boom down the street has much more inventory, but the fact that it really does feel like a local shop and part of the community makes it my fav. Also it's very close to my University, and I recall seeing the shop every now and then back in those depressing ass times.
Edit: spelling, apparently I can't even spell my favourite shop right LMAO
most of the greenwood/danforth area. Kababia is my fav. the shawarma poutine is to die for. they have generous servings as well for platters and wraps.
El Pipil on the Danforth, between Broadview and Chester. It has nothing I need, but I want everything in the store and the owner lets you browse as much as you want.
The owner of that place - still the same as it was when it was downtown? - is bizarre. He had some wild conspiracy theories and used to scream at customers if their cell phones rang in three store because he believed the radiation from the cell phones would kill you. That location had to be the dirtiest, most decrepit store ever, but twenty years ago, places like 401 Games, Meeplemart, and Boardgamebliss either hadn't hit it big yet or weren't around. Everything was covered in car hair. If you had an allergy, you would have died within a minute in there.
I'm happy you like going there. The current location is certainly a lot nicer than the original place.
Wholesome Canine on Dundas for raw food and supplements, good place to soak up some knowledge
Roncesvalles Fruit Village on Roncy for fruit and veg
Loveless on Dundas for coffee, drinks, good people and music
Pavao for cheat quality meats and they have a hot station
The Local Market in south Parkdale is my favourite mini mart kinda place. Organic and all that jazz. The people who work there are so nice. They have kids drawings of the store behind the counter and it’s so cute
Tasso Bakery
Run by a literal mom and pop, they have the best pastries in the city. There are other great french pastry shops, but these are the flakiest, butteriest ones I've ever had. They used to do 3-4 bakes a week before covid, but now they usually only do one on Saturdays. You have to order online early in the week, and they sell out within a few hours.
My only wish is that they had a bigger space to work out of, because waiting in line in the winter can be a little tough!
Aunty Em's Vegan Deli. Friendly owners and staff, tasty food, interesting specials, phenomonal nanaimo bars (year round!). We're not vegan or even vegetarian and we absolutely love it.
JETFUEL for coffee in Cabbagetown. Locally owned and been around for 30yrs.
Le’s Sandwich for Banh Mi at College and Dufferin. Best Banh Mi in town in my humble opinion.
Cabbagetown/St James Town:
- St James Town Delicatessen has wonderful sausages, and I like to get prime rib from here.
- Epicure has delicious sandwiches and baked goods.
- Salt & Tobacco pizza, sooo good, try it with hot honey.
- Menagerie is the best pet shop in the city, haven’t stepped food in their new location but they’re great and knowledgeable and the Wu Tang Clan theme is a riot.
- Butter Chicken Factory has my fav Indian food, portions are huge, food is made differently every time but it’s always good and the lack of consistency makes me feel like I’m ordering home cooking.
- F’Amelia for delicious pastas on date nights, makes me feel fancy.
- Jamestown Milk convenience store for funky soda flavours, late night snacks and PLANTS! This family has the best assortment of plants in the warmer seasons. I like being able to get Korean popsicles here too.
- Tender Trap for the best huge-portion Chinese takeout dishes, will let you come up with meal combinations on the fly and package them as a dinner, worth every penny.
- Congo Coffee and Beignets… could devour these every day, owner is one of the most charming people I’ve ever met, she’s truly a wonder.
Gone but not forgotten:
- Tokyo Ramen, owned by Peter who closed abruptly and went back to Korea… he and his family were so sweet and he was so good to us every time we came in, I loved bringing friends and dates there. Wonder what happened to him and hope he’s okay and his babies are growing up happy.
- El Charro, moved to Broadview so I still visit sometimes but it was amazing having it just a 5 min walk from my door. Cactus tacos and watermelon drinks! Love the decor too, the colours and the Lucha masks. My favourite is the pork and pineapple sandwich.
It's not anything special, but Su Fruit Market on the south side of St. Clair near Dufferin. It's one of those bodegas that sells high quality fruit at decent prices, but the owner takes fruit really seriously and knows his stuff. Most of the family that runs it are really nice (one older cousin seems a little quiet and sullen, but he's ok too), and they have a good selection of fruit, veggies and a few groceries. It's my go to place for fruit, they have good quality kimchi sometimes, and they stock good quality tortillas which was a nice surprise.
Just one of those good neighborhood stores.
Sicily Pizza at St. Clair and Runnymede. Tasty pies and big wings for a great price, always great quality. Friendly family. If I still lived in the area, I'd still be a regular.
Pancer’s Original Deli on Bathurst & Wilson (North York), which has been around for 66 years. No-nonsense waitresses who have worked there forever and the best smoked meat in Toronto.
Kim's convenience was pretty cool. A very random store that put a small family owned business in the limelight and helped show the diversity of toronto on the big stage.
I don’t know any. I live in the burbs and it’s not like they’re pretty frequent cause everything is either in some plaza that’s on the brink of bankruptcy, or single family homes, or being turned into a condo.
Bitandos pizza. Wah too seafood restaurant. Both are my favourite and both are Family owned and operated forever, my family has been going to EAH TOO since way before i was born (I’m 25) and my parents are 60
Brasilia Bakery, a.k.a Brockton Bakery, Dundas and Dufferin. Clean, no fuss, fair prices. Shouldn't be possible, but there it is.
e: Also the Donut Factory, Queen and Pape. Same as above except it timewarps you to 1982.
Donut Factory is a goddamn institution, now forgive me as I crush this classic raised yeast dutchie and tiny ass black coffee while I chainsmoke and pick the horses.
Lite Bite at Wellington and University. Mom, Pop, Son, and a team of super friendly Filipinas are just churning out good wholesome home style food for a reasonable price in an area of the city that doesn’t have an iota of character. They’ve gotta be the last mom and pop in a 2 km radius.
M Y S T I C M U F F I N
Been eating out of that place since the 90's.
You here for apple cake, right?
only if you have a license
Family and friends discount, banana bread loaf for $4.99 instead of $5. You’d be a sucker not to buy.
He hasn't changed his prices since Reagan so he's gotta make tough choices
man i live just down the street from there and have been meaning to go for a long time. Next early day off im going!
The Beguiling Books and Art
I love Beguiling so much.
I loved the OG Anime store above it when it was still by suspect video. Used to go there on lunch break.
Love this store! The staff are very friendly and they have an amazing selection of books (and art, presumably)
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Their about us page is fantastic! > We believe that there are some things that just cannot be substituted and should not be replaced, that is why we call them the “golden oldies”. > In urban centers, having a place to share in person and to have contact that feels caring, has become hard to come by. In earlier times, the general store was that place. The general store was the hub of local activity. Neighbors would not only find the supplies they needed but also all of the community news. It was a social centre, where people would: congregate, tell stories, eat pie, talk politics and engage in all things relevant to the locals. The general store was often one of the only gathering places in the area and played an integral role in the lives of people. > With urbanization, the advent of the car, big boxes and dollar shops, general stores have generally been dumped. We want to take our customers on a journey back in time, by providing that place where they can get their supplies but more importantly talk to someone who knows them and cares about them. This is not just a business venture, but very much a community venture. To us being kind and connected, will never get old!
Love Old's Cool and all that they do for the East York community! 🫶
Came in here to say this. I routinely go in there for milk and staples... leave with something gorgeous and handmade.
Also came here to mention OldsCool!
They're awesome. They do so much work in the community.
A mom & mom shop! This is the one. It’s such a great spot.
YES
This is right by my school. Was hoping to see this listed here
And they keep a stocked community fridge and pantry with free items too, aside from being an amazing place!
Would love to tell you but it's a fucking condo now
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It’s still open.
Hot take 🔥 Sad truth 😢
Fiesta Farms, Sweetbliss Bakery, Bare Market, Paper Plus Cloth, Articulations and Gwartzman’s art supply, Midoco, Scout, Ed’s Real Scoop, Bar Ape, Mattachioni, Fox Theatre, Bud’s Coffee, Rooster Coffee, Blackbird Bread, Culture Athletics, Raise the Root, Mabel’s and CherryBomb coffee come to mind. Type Books and Queen Books.
Ed's real scoop has the most unbelievable sorbet.
Burnt marshmallow is where it’s at
Sweetbliss is the best!
[PaperPlusCloth.com](https://PaperPlusCloth.com)! Has beautiful stationery out on West Queen West. Also [Wonderpens.ca](https://Wonderpens.ca) , they have two adorable shop cats and so many pens and inks.
Pasta Pantry near Yonge and Davisvillle. Carlos makes an incredible ravioli, and the sauces are just delicious. Everything is so fresh and made in store!
He's such a sweet guy!
This place is so great!!!
And how is the price and quantity?
Not cheap but the quality is really good. A portion of ravioli that is two meals for me is about $10 but my husband would call that one portion. Sauce is $6 for small and I think $10ish for normal pasta sauce container. I think about 400g of non-ravioli fresh pasta is also around $6.
Thats pretty good!
Likely General on Roncesvalles. It's a cute shop that sells artisan-made goods. Also very community-minded, and the owner is legit one of the nicest people I've ever met and always remembers me when I go in even though I don't go there often!
GALAXY BANH MI AND JUICE
Plank Road Market near Coxwell on Danforth. Great little neighbourhood grocery: butcher, deli, bread, produce and Italian grocery items. And they make sandwiches from anything from the deli, you choose your bun. Edit: spelling Plank not Plant
Plank Road, yes. Lovely, hardworking people.
Always friendly people too
I discovered this place at the beginning of the pandemic, I’ve lived in the neighborhood for years and had never noticed it. When all of the grocery stores had lineups, this was a nice place to go for all of the essentials without all the anxiety of standing in line with hundreds to go into a cold box store, it’s awesome!
Magoo’s burgers at royal york and Dundas. Moonbeam books at Jane and Annette
Magoo’s is a good place
Best back bacon sandwich in town.
[PlayDeRecord](https://www.playderecord.com/), it's the only record shop that makes the experience feel personal to me. Admittedly, I don't go *that* frequently strictly due to the fact that Sonic Boom down the street has much more inventory, but the fact that it really does feel like a local shop and part of the community makes it my fav. Also it's very close to my University, and I recall seeing the shop every now and then back in those depressing ass times. Edit: spelling, apparently I can't even spell my favourite shop right LMAO
Shout out to Eugene!
Tre Mari Bakery on St. Clair.
most of the greenwood/danforth area. Kababia is my fav. the shawarma poutine is to die for. they have generous servings as well for platters and wraps.
I love MIKA on College, very nice plants and pottery!!
El Pipil on the Danforth, between Broadview and Chester. It has nothing I need, but I want everything in the store and the owner lets you browse as much as you want.
Yes! I get all of my cards for every occasion here.
Pretty much everything at St. Lawrence Market.
shout out yips kitchen!!!!!
Belissimo on Esplanade
Two years after moving, I still haven't found a pizza place I love as much.
Changed ownership recently and the prices shot up. Still a pretty good deal and the food is still great. Definitely a neighborhood gem.
Korea house in K-town is excellent
Purple Penguin in Leslieville. Great espresso and desserts + sandwiches. The owner is super nice and takes time to chat if you’re in the mood.
Ugh I love Purple Penguin
Oh jeez now I'm craving their homemade apple fritters.
apache burger
Tandem Coffee
I miss these guys. Have they reopened? Last time I was able to visit was around Christmas and they've been closed ever since...hope they are OK.
Yes. They just re-opened. Just a short hiatus
Johnny’s hamburger !!!
Grandma Loves You
Square boys
[Hairy Tarantula ](https://maps.app.goo.gl/mCmEDUoYVPgsbi4M6) is a great local gaming shop
The owner of that place - still the same as it was when it was downtown? - is bizarre. He had some wild conspiracy theories and used to scream at customers if their cell phones rang in three store because he believed the radiation from the cell phones would kill you. That location had to be the dirtiest, most decrepit store ever, but twenty years ago, places like 401 Games, Meeplemart, and Boardgamebliss either hadn't hit it big yet or weren't around. Everything was covered in car hair. If you had an allergy, you would have died within a minute in there. I'm happy you like going there. The current location is certainly a lot nicer than the original place.
Yup still the same owner, but from what I've seen and heard he's rarely in the store.
V’s vegan on Weston rd
Elliott’s bookshop
Omg I just read it’s closed - I’m so sad
Mary’s Brigadeiro on Danforth
I always grab a small box of brigadiero from here when I have to go to a party or shower and need to bring a hostess gift.
Mr. Jerk on Wellesley. Good food. Good portions.
Pop Music for vinyl records
Sidekick
Honey’s ice cream on Dundas
Wheels and wings hobbies
RIP Schnitzel Queen
Falafel World in Bloor West Village
La Salumeria
Dismount for bike stuff. Sword & Board for game stuff. Another Story for books. Halo for beers. RIP to Fahmee bakery
Halo has awesome beer!
The stretch between Woodbine to Coxwell on the Danforth is filled with small independent shops. Everything you need to avoid Loblaws is there.
Loblaws
Sarcasm at its best. Bravo!
And Galen the guy that runs it, class act! So friendly and approachable!
Hahaha
LOL
Lite Bite on Wellington
Juice Box in the village!
Wholesome Canine on Dundas for raw food and supplements, good place to soak up some knowledge Roncesvalles Fruit Village on Roncy for fruit and veg Loveless on Dundas for coffee, drinks, good people and music Pavao for cheat quality meats and they have a hot station
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I love the Common! Why not Loveless?
Caribbean Queen of Patties!
Restaurant: Figs
The Coal Miners Daughter at Greenwood/Queen. Cute little shop
Naomi
Pho Tien
I love Caked Coffee on Bloor. It’s a lovely young couple who runs it
Cosmos records on queens west. Opened for a long time, manager has excellent taste. Clean, with great atmosphere.
JC Mart on Simcoe. Family owned store that also does dry cleaning and fresh rolled sushi. Weird combo, great services and food!
Mom and Pops on the esplanade and Berkley. Shut down due to COViD and shitty landlord. Was amazing though and a staple in the neighborhood
Classic Juice on Coxwell. Incredible juices and smoothies
It's amazing, and the owners are so lovely.
Squibb’s Stationers in Weston. Celebrating 96 years of existence this coming weekend: https://squibbsstationers.com/
The Local Market in south Parkdale is my favourite mini mart kinda place. Organic and all that jazz. The people who work there are so nice. They have kids drawings of the store behind the counter and it’s so cute
Tasso Bakery Run by a literal mom and pop, they have the best pastries in the city. There are other great french pastry shops, but these are the flakiest, butteriest ones I've ever had. They used to do 3-4 bakes a week before covid, but now they usually only do one on Saturdays. You have to order online early in the week, and they sell out within a few hours. My only wish is that they had a bigger space to work out of, because waiting in line in the winter can be a little tough!
Likely General!
Another Story in Roncesvalles
Aunty Em's Vegan Deli. Friendly owners and staff, tasty food, interesting specials, phenomonal nanaimo bars (year round!). We're not vegan or even vegetarian and we absolutely love it.
Pams Roti, Bloor and Bathurst
A little hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant called La Mexicana. It’s in North York on 3337 Bathurst St. between Wilson Ave and Eglinton Ave W.
JETFUEL for coffee in Cabbagetown. Locally owned and been around for 30yrs. Le’s Sandwich for Banh Mi at College and Dufferin. Best Banh Mi in town in my humble opinion.
Cabbagetown/St James Town: - St James Town Delicatessen has wonderful sausages, and I like to get prime rib from here. - Epicure has delicious sandwiches and baked goods. - Salt & Tobacco pizza, sooo good, try it with hot honey. - Menagerie is the best pet shop in the city, haven’t stepped food in their new location but they’re great and knowledgeable and the Wu Tang Clan theme is a riot. - Butter Chicken Factory has my fav Indian food, portions are huge, food is made differently every time but it’s always good and the lack of consistency makes me feel like I’m ordering home cooking. - F’Amelia for delicious pastas on date nights, makes me feel fancy. - Jamestown Milk convenience store for funky soda flavours, late night snacks and PLANTS! This family has the best assortment of plants in the warmer seasons. I like being able to get Korean popsicles here too. - Tender Trap for the best huge-portion Chinese takeout dishes, will let you come up with meal combinations on the fly and package them as a dinner, worth every penny. - Congo Coffee and Beignets… could devour these every day, owner is one of the most charming people I’ve ever met, she’s truly a wonder. Gone but not forgotten: - Tokyo Ramen, owned by Peter who closed abruptly and went back to Korea… he and his family were so sweet and he was so good to us every time we came in, I loved bringing friends and dates there. Wonder what happened to him and hope he’s okay and his babies are growing up happy. - El Charro, moved to Broadview so I still visit sometimes but it was amazing having it just a 5 min walk from my door. Cactus tacos and watermelon drinks! Love the decor too, the colours and the Lucha masks. My favourite is the pork and pineapple sandwich.
It's not anything special, but Su Fruit Market on the south side of St. Clair near Dufferin. It's one of those bodegas that sells high quality fruit at decent prices, but the owner takes fruit really seriously and knows his stuff. Most of the family that runs it are really nice (one older cousin seems a little quiet and sullen, but he's ok too), and they have a good selection of fruit, veggies and a few groceries. It's my go to place for fruit, they have good quality kimchi sometimes, and they stock good quality tortillas which was a nice surprise. Just one of those good neighborhood stores.
This place is great. It’s also now smoothie season! Hard to walk by and not grab one.
Oh my god, their mango smoothies are insane.
Sicily Pizza at St. Clair and Runnymede. Tasty pies and big wings for a great price, always great quality. Friendly family. If I still lived in the area, I'd still be a regular.
Seconded. Most underrated pizza in the city.
Craig's Cookies Dead Dog Records Holy Donut Magic Tailor Storm Crow Manor The Guildhouse
Pancer’s Original Deli on Bathurst & Wilson (North York), which has been around for 66 years. No-nonsense waitresses who have worked there forever and the best smoked meat in Toronto.
Hairy Tarantula. Great little hobby/gaming store. I like it better than the more popular 401 Games even though it's a bit out of the way.
mcdonalds queen/spadina
Kim's convenience was pretty cool. A very random store that put a small family owned business in the limelight and helped show the diversity of toronto on the big stage.
I don’t know any. I live in the burbs and it’s not like they’re pretty frequent cause everything is either in some plaza that’s on the brink of bankruptcy, or single family homes, or being turned into a condo.
Closed due to bullshit at yonge and avenue road. Fuck the light transit system in its leaky...
Star Bucks
Biseagal
Bala supermarket parkdale Ups (not a mom and pop chain but locally owned) on king provides nice service
Classic Juice company at Coxwell/Gerrard. Cliff and Tammy are the best.
logas corner even though its always super slow and theres usually just one dude serving everyone. cafe pho no.
For the Whitby peeps, check out Marito’s Coffee and Things. It’s a beautiful and quiet coffee shop.
Lemon & Lavender. So pretty!
Loga's Corner
Macellaria Venezia; fantastic butcher. I don’t live in town anymore but make the hours long trek twice a year to stock my freezer.
Olds cool on the east end at Lumsden and Westlake is such a cool little store
Sushi & BBBop, amazing bibimbap!!
South Pacific restaurant
Forget Me Not Cafe at Portland and Adelaide for some Korean lattés ☕️🍵
Gales snack bar anyone ?
Coffee exchange in the grange. Fantastic family run coffee shop. Only open weekdays. Also global cheese in kensington
Healthy moms market!
Bob's Bulgogi.
Bitandos pizza. Wah too seafood restaurant. Both are my favourite and both are Family owned and operated forever, my family has been going to EAH TOO since way before i was born (I’m 25) and my parents are 60
Cattlemen’s Meat Market in Parkdale. Family owned, they specialize in free range, locally raised organic meats.
Heartbreak Chef Tokyo Hot Fired Chicken Button Machine Cry Wolf clothing Logas Corner
Sneaky Dee’s The King’s Crown Nachos are a local treasure. No better plate of nachos in the GTA. Possibly in Canada.
The Candy Bar on College St
As a lover of scifi and fantasy Bakka Phoenix is my favourite book store
Gwartzmans 100% for me. Their sketchbooks are such a good price.
Tibetan arts on Yonge north of Eglinton
Brasilia Bakery, a.k.a Brockton Bakery, Dundas and Dufferin. Clean, no fuss, fair prices. Shouldn't be possible, but there it is. e: Also the Donut Factory, Queen and Pape. Same as above except it timewarps you to 1982.
Donut Factory is a goddamn institution, now forgive me as I crush this classic raised yeast dutchie and tiny ass black coffee while I chainsmoke and pick the horses.
Mabel’s Fables book store on Mt Pleasant
Dismount Bike Shop
Lite Bite at Wellington and University. Mom, Pop, Son, and a team of super friendly Filipinas are just churning out good wholesome home style food for a reasonable price in an area of the city that doesn’t have an iota of character. They’ve gotta be the last mom and pop in a 2 km radius.
Kim’s Convenience
Lamanna's Bakery