Toronto restaurant known for its healthy lunches closing after landlord doubles rent
A Toronto business based around healthy eating will soon be closing permanently, making it that much harder to shop for gluten-free and keto diets in the city.
The Simple Kitchen will soon be leaving their location on Roncesvalles due to the landlord doubling their rent.
"We have enjoyed our last four years in the Roncy neighbourhood," the business wrote in a letter they posted to Instagram on Sept. 10 announcing they'd be closing in a few weeks.
"Unfortunately, the landlord has doubled our rent, making it impossible to stay and survive."
The fast casual cafe has been a source for keto, paleo and gluten-free products including healthy whole foods for takeout, granolas and drinks, as well as natural body care products.
They've been reducing the menu and haven't been restocking inventory at the Roncy location, though their online shop will continue to remain open and they'll keep doing same-day deliveries.
Simple Kitchen now has an Oakville location that just opened last January. They also started construction on a First Canadian Place location today with hopes to open in November.
"We have a very exciting collaboration in Yorkville to come but the paperwork has not been finalized yet," Erin Baric, who owns Simple Kitchen with Joe Meireis, tells blogTO.
The last day for the Roncesvalles location will be Oct. 9.
"The first question everyone asks is how can they double the rent. I thought that wasn't allowed but the truth is that is only the case for residential lease. Once a lease is over the landlord can do anything they want," says Baric.
"We pumped hundreds of thousands of dollars into the place when we first got it and now someone else is going to benefit from all of our work."
