City
How dysfunction at City Hall impedes small business
Creme Fraiche Market has been trying to open a shop at Durie and Annette streets for the past year. Actually, maybe make that two years, since owners Constance Dykun and Rachel Silva have had their eyes on one particular storefront since 2010.
The pair began working together earlier that year, selling fresh Monforte Dairy cheeses at various farmers' markets throughout Toronto. "The thought came to mind after doing more than 15 markets," Constance says. "We wanted to make Monforte cheeses more accessible; to give it a home."
"The goal of the store," she continues, "would be to support Monforte cheese customers, as well as expand the conversation about sustainable food."
Not an overly lofty goal, it seems, so Rachel and Constance couldn't understand why their business license application wasn't going through. Finally, they got a letter in December saying their request had been denied.
"It wasn't until then that the zoning issue came to light," Rachel says. The prospective building for Creme Fraiche, which is actually an old house, previously held an art gallery, and before that, a hair salon. "The bottom line that we soon found out," Constance says, "is that it wasn't zoned for a food store." The shop, as planned, would sell a variety of cheeses, as well as breads, crackers, and fair trade organic coffee.
So, for the last several months, Constance has taken on the seemingly full time job of trying to secure a variance, while still accompanying Rachel to farmers markets. The trouble appears to be lack of communication between City departments — zoning doesn't talk to licensing, who doesn't talk to building permits, and the file is constantly being shifted from office to office. Constance decided to start tracing it herself, finding the person who had it on his or her desk and calling that person directly.
After countless hours on hold and visits to City offices, Creme Fraiche did enjoy a bit of a coup just a few days ago. "It was approved in about 10 minutes," Constance says of their variance application. "It was a great win."
The file will now stay open for about 30 days, during which anyone who wants to file a complaint can do so. If all goes well, Rachel and Constance are looking to finally open their shop the second week of June. And remarkably, neither one seems particularly jaded about the process. "I was ready to look for a new place," Rachel says, laughing. "But Constance was determined."
"It's been harmonious for the most part," Constance chimes in. "But it is a cumbersome process." In the meantime, Creme Fraiche will continue to tell its cheeses at markets around Toronto.
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There is a reason why we have zoning. You can't just build/whatever the hell you want in any property, if we could do that then I would turn my house into a nightclub. My neighbours would be pissed at the noise.
It's an easy mistake to make. One could watch the churn of storefronts in the old city and never once get the impression that they distinguish food shops from other stores in zoning. Dinesafe etc, sure, but you'd never once think that would be a zoning issue.
I hate to say this, but this might have been something to call the Mayor about. This is precisely the sort of "little guy" battle he loves so much.
Zero sympathy from me.
of course they should have looked into it themselves, but I would have never thought of it considering the space has been operating as a business in one form or another for as long as I can remember.
They're not trying to turn a residence into a business, so your "turn my house into a nightclub" comparison is inaccurate.
As noted in the article, there have already been several businesses at that storefront. They simply needed it to be designated 'food' commercial. This should have taken a day, not two years.
All of you out there who say "zero sympathy from me" and such, it doesn't seem like you understand what it means to put a small business together. It is hard enough as it is not to need ridiculous zoning ordinances putting a stop to it. This is two years of lost revenue for these ladies and the time lost can never be gained back. Bureaucrats do not understand that and under the guise of "protecting the children" they make everybody's life miserable.
We do not need zoning ordinances, there are hundreds of places that do not have one and they do fine, usually restricting unwanted uses through neighborhood associations and covenants in the property titles.
It's now time to take your head out of arse and realize that people do not need a nanny state for every single aspect of their lives.