Toronto food stall was a home away from home for 25 years and now it's gone

After 25 years, the last-standing food stall at Toronto's Cumberland Terrace has closed its doors, closing a chapter of turning soup into a home away from home.

Esther Joseph explains that, when she first moved to Toronto from Colombo, Sri Lanka, fleeing the civil war in 1995, two things struck her immediately: it was near-impossible to find a job, and it was cold. Like, really cold.

"Everywhere I walked on the street, I'd see the banners saying, 'no vacancy, no vacancy,' and I was new to Canada, all by myself. I don't have any relatives or friends," she says. "That's how I started."

And by "started," she's referring to Esther Queen of Soups, her food stall that's been a Yorkville stalwart for the past quarter century.

After spending her first few years in the city working for a catering company, bolstered by Toronto's bitter cold, Esther began making soups and, in 2001, signed a lease on the Cumberland Terrace space she occupied all the way up until Jan. 31, when the impending redevelopment of the site forced her out, once and for all.

"The day I went upstairs to sign the paper, they told me that I'm taking a chance, and it was given month to month. Even at that point, every time we'd receive a letter from the management, we'd think, 'Are they going to close this today?' before even opening the letter," Esther says.

Undeterred, Esther moved in and began serving her soups. She started with the classics — not too spicy, not too "exotic," — so as not to scare away the neighbourhood's waspier residents, but slowly began introducing dishes she grew up with: curry, biryani, samosas, and the like.

If 25 years in business at a long-faltering location is any proof, people loved it, though it's hard to separate customers' love for the food from their love for Esther.

"All the customers coming there, we felt like their family," Esther tells us.

"The place was also designed to look like a home kitchen, right? So they felt that, each and every customer who walked in. And that's what they said, 'Oh, we are coming home.' I said, 'Come inside. This is your home.'"

When customers would come in with specific requests, Esther would make them, no questions asked. If Esther's elderly patrons — who, she tells us, she'll miss most of all — needed their meal blended, she'd do it happily.

Throngs of adoring regulars, many of whom visit Esther's stall every day, are proof that Esther's attention is much appreciated. The feeling, she says, is mutual.

"My customers, I'm going to miss them every single day," Esther says.

"I'm not a person who can sell stuff on Uber and DoorDash: those are not my kitchen. I won't interact with people. I like to talk to them. Come, laugh, smile, give them the positive energy in the morning when they come. That's what I wanted, and that's what I developed there."

All is not lost, though. Esther says that she plans to reopen the restaurant in a new location in the coming months, but is waiting for the ink to dry before she announces exactly where that'll be.

"I already told all my old customers, you can look it up on the website, and I'm going to send an invitation," Esther says. "I expect all of you to be there the very first day, not to buy but just to give me your blessing."