What Polly Xue most wants the Junction community to know is how grateful she is.
With tears in her eyes on Friday, Xue recounted how neighbours have rallied to help Lucky Convenience Store, the business she co-owns with her husband, Andy Shi, after a break-in at their shop last week.
“I’m so moved,” said Xue. “I didn’t know how much people loved us.”
During the break-in, burglars made off with two large cases of cigarettes with an estimated value of about $9,000, said Xue.
Yet within a week, the couple has been made whole.
On Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, a GoFundMe for the pair, organized by another local Junction small business owner, raised more than $9,000.
“Everyone knows them and sees them all the time,” said Scott Dobson, a neighbour who contributed to the fundraiser. “I think it shows that the holiday spirit is based in community.”
The break-in
Xue said she was first alerted to a problem in their store on the evening of Dec. 20.
An alarm was triggered by two men entering through the shop’s back door, which sent a telephone call to Xue’s cell phone.
The small business owner thought it might be a false alarm. But the couple’s shop has been broken into more than five times since establishment, so Xue sent her husband to check it out.
Shi was nearly in tears when he called a few minutes later, Xue said.
The couple had recently received a large shipment of cigarettes — two cases, which were tucked behind the counter with an estimated value of about $9,000.
Reviewing the video footage with TorontoToday, Xue showed how the two men broke the back door, smashing beer bottles down the stairs, before snatching the cartons and leaving.
“It was terrible,” she said.
Insurance woes
After experiencing difficulties with theft-related insurance when they first opened their business, the couple decided not to continue with it — so they were not eligible for a reimbursement.
Soon after launching the shop more than fifteen years ago, the store was broken into. At the time, the couple had insurance to cover theft, but trying to get the company to pay was near-impossible, said Xue.
There were many forms to fill out and the couple struggled with a language barrier.
After that incident, they discontinued the additional theft-related insurance, she said. While they have liability insurance, it does not cover the stolen goods, she added.
Neighbours rally to help
Shortly thereafter neighbours proposed a different solution.
Daniel Wahlen, the owner of Wallace Espresso, a local chain of coffee shops, went to the convenience store the day after the break-in and learned of the incident.
Wahlen was sympathetic, having had similar things happen to his own businesses.
“I’ve been broken into before and it sucks — especially at Christmas,” he told TorontoToday.
Wahlen went home and spoke with his partner, Trang Nguyen, and the pair quickly followed up with Xue to propose a GoFundMe to cover the cost of the stolen items.
The shop owner was appreciative, but reluctant.
“I thought it was for sick people or for people who are in very bad situations,” Xue said. “I [thought] ‘My situation wasn’t too, too bad … that money [should] go to somebody else who really, really needs it.’”
But the next day another customer came into the shop suggesting the same thing.
“‘The whole community cares about you so much,’” she recalled the resident saying.
Xue got back in touch with Wahlen, saying had changed her mind.
Days later, about 200 people chipped in to raise more than $9,000.
“I was shocked,” Xue said.
Helping a trusted neighbour
Dobson, a local documentary filmmaker, said he was happy to contribute $100.
Xue and Shi are well-known in the neighbourhood and have gone out of their way to quietly help others in need, he said.
“Like any neighbourhood, there’s people that are doing well and people that are struggling,” said Dobson. “I know for a fact that Polly has helped some people out … when they’ve been short of money.”
Ben Fenlon, a local real estate agent, said he was also moved to donate $50, knowing how challenging the convenience store business can be.
In June, a variety store a few streets north of Lucky Convenience closed after their lease was not renewed, he said.
“Convenience stores are an essential neighbourhood service and I would hate to lose another one,” he said. “I just thought that we should collectively rally to support this couple.”
Jessica Pratezina, another local neighbour, supported the fundraiser for a similar reason.
“[I] think we’re going through a time when the systems and services that we thought would be there for us in times of trouble are unreliable or just plain absent,” she said.
“Our friends and neighbours — it feels like that’s all we’ve got.”
More than money
On Christmas eve, the day after the fundraiser went live, the store was jam-packed with customers.
In addition to donations, neighbours have increased their patronage and offered the couple holiday gifts.
“So many people said, ‘I heard your story. I’m so sorry. We care about you,’” said Xue. “Some of them said they walked from two blocks away just to support me.”
Xue said the messages of support have touched her deeply.
“[The] convenience store business is really tough and very stressful, but the good thing is the relationship with customers.”
“We're so lucky,” Xue said. “The neighbourhood, the community, the people here are so nice to us.”
