Toronto's groundbreaking Indigenous restaurant is shutting down
An Indigenous restaurant that thrived with a storefront in Toronto for three years has just announced they're leaving the location permanently.
"NishDish is leaving 690 Bloor St West and we want to say CHI-MIIGWECH to our community for showing so much love and support during 3 amazing years at our first ever storefront," reads the caption to a post on the restaurant's Instagram.
People will no longer be able to line up for elk burgers, venison stew and bannock at their small but sunny spot near Christie and Bloor, but hopefully NishDish will still have a storefront in the future with the help of the community.
"We need your help through this transitional phase to find a new home," the caption to the Instagram post continues, with a link to a GoFundMe following that.
"NishDish is in transition and we need your help to continue working towards our vision of Indigenous Food Sovereignty," reads the GoFundMe page. "NishDish is a business built on traditional Anishnawbe (Nish) food. Over the last 15 years NishDish has grown as a catering business and has operated a storefront marketeria for 3 years."
The business relies heavily on events so they've been severely impacted by COVID-19, and will be using donations to cover "overhead costs and diversification of our products."
The GoFundMe has an ambitious $80,000 goal, but has already racked up $2500 in donations in under 24 hours so there may be hope for the continuation of NishDish and another Marketeria yet.
Jesse Milns
