It’s been a rough start to the new year for Aaron Colbert and Junelle Caslan, co-owners of west end pastry shop Castle & Coal.
On the morning of New Years Eve, the couple received a phone call from store staff, informing them of a break-in at their shop hours before.
After smashing the front door, the vandal went through the shop, located near Queen Street West and Dovercourt Road, fleeing with a tip box with about $20 inside.
Colbert said the cost to fix the door could be as much as $2,000, and that there’s an emotional toll, too.
The break-in was “jarring,” he said. “It definitely felt like our safe space was a bit compromised.”
Since Dec. 27, at least three other independent shops in the Queen West and Roncesvalles neighbourhoods have been hit by break-ins.
Roncy businesses face break-ins
Coffee and All That Jazz, a Roncesvalles cafe, was hit two days after Christmas.
After throwing a brick through the front window, the burglars entered the eatery and stole pastries and drinks, said owner Mei Song.
Combined with the cost of fixing the window, the damage will amount to at least $650, she said in an interview with TorontoToday.
Less than a week later, Mabel’s Bakery, just down the street, was also targeted in a “brazen” evening attack, said store manager Jennifer Hall.
After throwing a large stone through the glass door, the burglars entered the shop, but did not steal anything, suggesting the motive was “vandalism,” she said.
Hall said there’s a feeling of “violation” that comes from knowing the intruders were walking through the store.
She added that it’s particularly upsetting that people would choose to target small businesses. In a post-pandemic world, independent shops are just trying to recover, she said.
TorontoToday contacted the Toronto Police Service to ask if this recent string of incidents are connected, but did not receive comment by publication time.
Specialty shop faces $5,000 in lost revenue, damage
Specialty food shop The Spanish Pig on Roncesvalles Ave. was also hit by a recent break-in.
In the early morning of Jan. 4, store owner Jonathan Lirrad received a call from his businesses’ security system, alerting him to an intruder.
After rushing to the shop, Lirrad said he saw that his cash register and point of sale system had been nabbed.
The register had been emptied not long before, so there was only about $200 inside — but all in, Lirrad estimated the break-in will cost the business about $5,000. This tally includes lost sales from closing the shop, and the replacement of the point of sale system and door.
Lirrad said he’s hopeful it’s all covered by insurance, but that the experience has been “disheartening.”
Are break-ins on the rise?
A Toronto glass replacement company told TorontoToday that they have seen an uptick in residential — but not commercial — break-ins over the past year.
While Door On The Go owner Tony Carvalhais said he has not seen a larger trend of commercial break-ins, his business has seen a doubling in residential break-ins compared to a year prior — an increase, he said, that is no doubt caused by the rising cost of living and individuals’ increased desperation.
But taking a longer view, data from the Toronto Police Service shows commercial break and enters in both Roncesvalles and Queen West have increased over the past decade.
Between 2015 and 2019, both neighbourhoods saw an average of about 15 commercial break-ins per year. In the last five years, that figure has increased to about 21 break-ins annually.
Neighbours and businesses offer support
Since the break-ins, all four businesses in the Queen West and Roncesvalles neighbourhoods have reopened.
Hall said she’s been touched to see the outpouring of support they’ve received from local shops and customers.
Facebook and Instagram posts about their situation quickly racked up more than 100 likes and many comments of support and concern.
“There’s a feeling of frustration, in that there wasn’t really any reason behind it,” said Hall, of the break-in.
“But one of the beautiful things about Roncesvalles and Queen is there is a very strong sense of community,” she said. “We love where we live.”
