In Toronto's latest edition of strange joint ventures, a phone accessory store-meets-mini waffle counter has formed to bring you the hottest collab of the summer.
A new business called Grandmama's Waffles has just moved into the front area of Abby's Convenience + Wireless Club at 764 Queen St. West, meaning you can now get iPhone chargers and latenight ube waffles at the same time.
It's the union you never knew you needed. Operating simultaneously from noon until well into the evening every day except Monday, Grandmama's and Abby's have a symbiotic relationship.
Grandmama's claims prime real estate with the storefront window, where owner Rhuland Proudfoot entices customers into the shop with displays of dairy-free ube, pandan, and sesame waffles, along with the wafting scent of drippy beer batter. 
Meanwhile, the owner of Abby's (who goes by Noor) sells his less attractive wares in the back. When Noor closes his shop at 9 p.m., Rhuland partly takes over shopkeeper duties by selling a small stock of chargers and other necessities until he closes a few hours later.
According to Proudfoot, he pitched the idea to around 30 businesses before finally landing this deal with Abby's, which will hopefully continue until next year, at least.
So far, the partnership seems to be working. Just steps from Queen and Bathurst, Grandmama's looks like its poised to be a fun go-to in an area that's surprisingly limited in latenight snack options.
Borne from his loves of iron-grilled waffles, his granny, and basketball player Larry Johnson (who once dressed up like an old lady for a Converse commercial) Proudfoot's menu for Grandmama's is simple.
There's two types of waffles here: colourful ones made with coconut cream ($5), or plainer looking waffles made with a mixture of alcohol-free beer batter, soy milk, and a variety of extra ingredients inside like chocolate, peanut butter and jelly, pink praline ($4.25 to $5).
The coconut cream pandan and ube options are both vegan and gluten-free, and there are bound to be specialty menu items popping up offering new beer batter waffle options like Caribbean-inspired carrot and mango or Nanaimo bar.
Fluffy, natural-tasting, and not too sweet, these waffles are definitely devourable.
And the best part is being able to devour them outside on the array of stools outside the shop, Asian street market-style.
Fun fact: if you tag your grandma eating a Grandmama's waffle on IG, she may be eligible to become the store's Grandma Of The Month, which will warrant your granny a sign of honour in the shop window and some basketball stats playing cards to match.
by Tanya Mok via blogTO
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