Toronto business that’s a fixture in the community is closing

A local Toronto business that’s a neighborhood favorite is closing, and while the closure is temporary, there’s no word on when or where it will return.

I’m serving up the slightly odd one – but who am I to judge? It works! – a combination of homemade soup and gourmet ice cream from the charming Oakwood Village store and kitchen for the past four years, Spirit Provisions Much more than your average local deli.

Toronto Soup Co., a family project started in 2018 by owner Sara Schwartz Gellar and her children. What started as a business soon grew into a productive enterprise that is proud to serve a number of customers. Best soup in Toronto.

Toronto Soup Co. opened its brick-and-mortar Soul Provisions in Oakwood Village just two months before the Covid-19 pandemic shut down the world in 2020, but despite the challenges, the business has grown exponentially.

“We sell soups that are 100% natural and low sodium,” Sara tells blogTO, “so people were actually coming to us when they needed relief at that time.”

Sara and her partner (in life and business), Matt, began marketing to people who live outside of Toronto and have loved ones in the city; They created care packages filled with soups and other various comfort foods that people could send to their sick friends and family to help them feel better.

It’s not just the comfort food aspect that has earned Soul Provisions the distinction of being a community pillar, Sara’s has also developed a robust program that allows less fortunate members of the neighborhood to eat even if they can’t afford it.

In addition to serving some of the best soup in Toronto, the business also operates a give-back business they call “Soup Empathy”; Every liter of soup sold here also purchases a portion of the soup to be given to community members in need.

Best of all, Soul Provisions is a great place to go, with a small, sunny patio perfect for ice creams and a cast of characters who are always ready and eager to smile.

“We have developed a really strong relationship with our community,” Sara tells blogTO, referring to Soul Provisions as “one of the heartbeats” of Oakwood Village.

But it’s the end of an era (as well as the beginning of a new chapter) for Soul Provisions, as the Vaughan Road store will close its doors on Sunday, November 17, and there’s no word yet on when or where that opening will take place. The replacement location will open.

Sara says the way Soul Provisions has grown has been “beyond the wildest expectations,” but it also means the business has rapidly outgrown the cozy corner shop it was born in over the last five years.

“We’re at the end of our five-year lease and I’ve just realized we’ve reached the maximum of what we can do in this area,” Sara shares, “but as a small business owner, I need to continue to grow.”

Therefore, rather than continue renting, Sara and the Soul Provisions team decided not to renew the lease and begin looking for a new home for the business, exploring spaces Sara might have.

“With our empathy program and paying all our staff a living wage, the business essentially becomes a break-even enterprise,” Sara told blogTO. “I realized I needed to buy a building for this to be profitable.”

According to Sara, the journey to find a new home for Soul Provisions has been both exciting and frustrating; because the search for the perfect place continues even a year after the decision to move.

“I was hoping everything would go smoothly and we would close the place and open in our new location,” Sara told blogTO, but the reality of the situation turned out not to be like that at all.

“We were probably overbid for five buildings,” he says, noting that properties needing financing and building inspections are often snapped up by developers and investors when they have more cash on hand and no need to inspect the buildings. only when they plan to tear them down and rebuild.

“We are running something very special and it took a lot to find the right location,” Sara tells blogTO.

So for now, Soul Provisions find themselves homeless; But that won’t stop them from serving their beloved soup to the community in the meantime.

Sara says the business is already planning a series of pop-ups while the search continues, partnering with other local businesses in Oakwood Village to offer soups they’ll prepare from a remote commercial kitchen.

They’ve also changed some of their recipes to freeze better so fans of the business can stock up in advance.

For those wanting an extra dose of Soul Provisions before a break, you can stop by during regular business hours or visit the shop on Saturday, November 16 to stock up on the last batches of your favorite soups and ‘sicles’. 12 and 3 p.m. for the Grand Finale Patio Party, which will feature live music, grilled cheese, oyster pop-ups and, of course, soup.

“We’re here to give pleasure,” says Sara, “that’s why we exist.”

Soul Provisions is currently located at 571 Vaughan Road.