Toronto butcher shop suddenly shuts down all locations leaving locals shocked

Members of a Toronto neighbourhood are heartbroken to learn that a much-loved butcher's shop has closed all of their Toronto locations.

Bespoke Butchers, which operated three locations in the city, specialized in ethical, sustainable, and hormone- and antibiotic-free quality meats — until they abruptly shut down all of their locations on Sunday, Jan. 21.

The news broke when a post surfaced in an east-side small business Facebook group saying that the Queen East location had been closed before confirming that the Danforth and Annex locations had closed, too.

While no explanation for the closures has been made public yet, some members of the neighbourhood hypothesize that it could have something to do with the recent CEBA loan repayment deadline for small businesses.

"I wonder if it [has] anything to do with the fact that government loans have to be either paid or refinanced now. It is difficult for many businesses because of this," writes one member in the comment section of the post.

In any event, the closure appears to have happened suddenly, with regulars saying they had no idea the closure was coming, and even some members alleging that staff were informed of the closure on extremely short notice.

"The whole situation is a mess," writes a member of the community group. "Staff were told about a week beforehand that they were all out of jobs."

Bespoke Butchers also operated a business out of St. Lawrence Market called Sausage King, which has been reported closed as well.