The couple behind Wanda’s Pie in the Sky is in a battle with the city over the future of a pandemic-era dining addition they say is crucial to keeping their Kensington Market business afloat.
The City of Toronto is demanding Wanda’s Pie in the Sky demolish a 15-seat dining shed the business owners, Wanda and David Beaver, built during the pandemic, which encroaches onto the sidewalk on Oxford Street.
The bakery and cafe has been a mainstay of Kensington Market for 17 years, but COVID-19 and inflation presented challenges for the Beavers.
When social distancing requirements took effect in 2020, Wanda’s owners inquired about constructing an addition to the cafe with a “window wall” design that allowed for airflow.
The City of Toronto paused issuing building permits during the height of the pandemic, but based on advice from city staff, the Beavers felt reassured they could build first and apply for the permit retroactively.
In January 2023, the city came knocking.
Toronto Building issued a work order demanding the building’s landlord, who lives in Mississauga, obtain a proper building permit, which would require making a suite of changes to the building addition, or have it demolished.
In order to get a permit, Toronto Transportation Services — the department that handles city property such as sidewalks — would need to approve the addition’s encroachment onto the sidewalk, which is public property. The process is timely and expensive.
The addition also requires footings —– structural supports underneath the building to prevent it from settling into the ground.
Matters escalated when a court summons was sent to the owner of the property earlier this year, charging them with violating the Building Code and for failing to comply with the earlier work order.
The Beavers told TorontoToday they didn’t know their landlord had been summoned to court until much later and were in the dark about the severity of the situation.
The pie shop owners began preparing to bulldoze the addition, but NDP MPP Kristyn Wong-Tam has encouraged them to challenge the demolition order.
“The Beavers were not trying to pull a fast one on the city,” said Wong-Tam, who represents the nearby riding of Toronto Centre.
Although Wanda’s is not in the MPP’s constituency, Wong-Tam took an interest in the case, arguing the Beavers are “victims of the lack of communication” from the city and their landlord.
A petition to save the expansion hangs on a wall near the entrance of the pie shop with approximately 300 signatures. An online version has received over 240 signatures as of publication time.
The Beavers are currently working with an architect to design a patio that could replace the building addition if it ends up being torn down.
But Wanda remains hopeful they can find a solution with the city — or at least keep the addition in place until the spring. She is more optimistic than David is, but “hope springs eternal, so I’m glad she’s hoping,” he said.
Kensington Market is known for its legal non-conformity. Many businesses in the Market defy containment and encroach onto sidewalks, creating a scattershot streetscape the city has aimed to protect.
“Kensington Market is characterized by narrow streets and an eclectic mix of shops and restaurants that often encroach onto the public boulevard for merchandise displays and/or seating,” reads a 2023 staff report about pedestrianization in the area.
“These extended building uses are cornerstones to the character of the market and protected by Municipal Zoning By-laws.”
Wanda said the business likely would not have survived the pandemic without the extra dining seats the building addition allowed for.
With a bag of cocoa powder now priced at over $500, the Beavers are hoping they can generate as much revenue as possible before incurring steep construction costs.
“We're barely getting by, even though we're busy. So we go, ‘this is going to kill us,’” said David.
He said the response from patrons and community members has been “overwhelming.”
The couple has been running their baked goods business for nearly 40 years with two prior locations, and hope they don’t have to stop any time soon.
“A pie shop, it's like a warm blanket. It's not just about the pie … it’s more than just the food, it’s that feeling of comfort,” said Wanda.
Correction: This article was updated to clarify the first work order from the city was issued in January 2023 not January 2024. We regret the error.
