The Lansdowne Cone is soon to be no more after the building where it sits was sold and attempts to negotiate with the new owners fell through.
Owner Denise Soueidan-O’Leary issued an open letter to Bloorland Holdings Ltd, the new owners of 659 Lansdowne Avenue, detailing the difficulties she's faced in trying to save her ice cream shop.
"We have been in negotiations for 6 weeks, and despite my best efforts to introduce you to the spirit of Bloordale, and the community value of The Lansdowne Cone, you continue to choose profit over people," the lettter begins.
"Because of this, the Lansdowne Cone is forced to leave Bloordale."
It then goes on to outline the efforts made to communicate and negotiate a possible arrangement that would see the shop remain in the space.
Back in April, the store appealed to the community for help in raising awareness about what was happening and the challenges it was facing with the new owners.
Since then, Soueidan-O’Leary says she's been trying to work collaboratively with them, but to no avail.
"Over the past 6 weeks we have engaged in a long process of negotiation - I have been open, honest and straightforward about our dedication to the Bloordale community," she wrote.
"You have refused to come to the table, and have forced me to work through an intermediary. You have been covert, slow to respond, and continue to display a complete lack of care for the community that you are now a part of."
The building at 1287 Bloor St. West was sold in April and includes the 659 Lansdowne Ave. address where the shop has its entrance.
Soueidan-O'Leary launched a fundraising campaign to help the store find a new space while negations were ongoing.
She also held a pop-up event in anticipation of officially reopening to the public this week.
Now it appears the shop will be closing for good after nine years at the corner of Lansdowne and Bloor.
Soueidan-O'Leary has also issued a political call to action on Monday to city councillor Ana Bailão, MPP Marit Stiles and MP Julie Dzerowicz to step in and address the "full latitude" landlords and developers are given to overpower small businesses.
"Though we are heart-broken to be leaving our home of 9 years," she wrote, "we will find another home, and we will continue to create inclusive space and accessible job opportunities for friends, for our community, and for our city."
Below is the full letter:
June 3 2020
To: Bloorland Holdings Ltd.
RE: An open letter to the new owner at 1287 Bloor St W (including 659 Lansdowne Ave)
We have been in negotiations for 6 weeks, and despite my best efforts to introduce you to the spirit of Bloordale, and the community value of The Lansdowne Cone, you continue to choose profit over people.
Because of this, the Lansdowne Cone is forced to leave Bloordale.
As you have already changed the locks, We request unrestricted access to the space for 1.5 weeks (until june 14th) to pack up and remove our fixtures and property from the location.
At the beginning of April we were notified that the building at 1287 Bloor Street had sold. We announced to our community that we were unsure of our future, and that we feared we would have to close. On April 24, we were contacted by your agent assuring us that your group did not want us out, and would be interested in reaching an agreement to save The Lansdowne Cone, preserving it as a community resource.
Over the past 6 weeks we have engaged in a long process of negotiation - I have been open, honest and straightforward about our dedication to the Bloordale community, our commitment to our work providing employment opportunities for folks with disabilities and barriers, and our abilities and limitations as a social enterprise. You have refused to come to the table, and have forced me to work through an intermediary. You have been covert, slow to respond, and continue to display a complete lack of care for the community that you are now a part of.
I have done my best to share with you the value of The Lansdowne Cone as a community resource here in the Bloordale community. I have shared with you the stories from our customers, and the outpouring of support we have received on social media since our announcement. I have tried to show you that looking at us from a purely profit driven and financial return on investment perspective is a narrow view, and ignores the value of community assets in a vibrant community like Bloordale. I was hopeful that the value of a community resource, and the strength of the community voice would lead you to make the right decision, but your ears are tuned only to the sound of profit
Throughout our negotiations, every time your agent came back to me, he came with another ask for me to sacrifice my stated needs - to pay more money, to accept stricter terms, to settle for a shorter lease term. And in the interest of preserving our home in Bloordale, and continuing our mission driven work, I conceded. But I have been honest about the limitations of my business - though we are completely sustainable, The Lansdowne Cone is a mission driven business, not a profit driven business; we are simply unable to afford the exorbitant rent that you are asking for, nor are we able to remain in a space that will always be precarious, as you insist on including a termination clause so that you are able to chase capitalism over community.
In my very first letter to you, I welcomed you to Bloordale, and introduced you to the spirit of this community: “Your new acquisition sits at the heart of a lovely Toronto neighbourhood with an interesting and colourful history. It is home to many small businesses and to a vibrant group of people that tirelessly put in hard work to keep their community spirit alive...” This is a community fighting to keep gentrification out, and to preserve the identity of Bloordale. Despite this introduction, and my efforts to show you the beauty of your new community, your intentions are clear. Your motives are unambiguous. You are not interested in preserving the spirit of this community, you have no concern for the families and folks that live here, and you are bringing gentrification into our community.
It is National AccessAbility Week, and rather than problem solving and finding a way to get to yes, you are choosing to shut down a social enterprise that supports the disability community by holding inclusive space and creating accessible job opportunities.
Though we are heart-broken to be leaving our home of 9 years, we will find another home, and we will continue to create inclusive space and accessible job opportunities for friends, for our community, and for our city.
We live in a world where there is so much bad. So many are struggling. So much is wrong. The Lansdowne Cone is a ready made opportunity to preserve a little bit of hope, a little bit of beauty, a little bit of good. We weren’t asking you to do the work; that’s our job. We were simply asking you to clear a path. I had hoped that community would win this time, but you have chosen: Capitalism over Community. Profit over Good. Money over People. This community deserves better.
Heartbroken, but not defeated,
Denise Soueidan-O’Leary
Owner/Program Developer
The Lansdowne Cone
by Lisa Power via blogTO
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