Little Jamaica is located along a stretch of Eglinton Avenue West between Keele Street and Allen Road. It is a cultural and historical staple in the city, but businesses in the community have been significantly impacted by Eglinton Crosstown LRT construction.
Many store owners are hoping to see more foot traffic now that Line 5 is up and running, but that isn’t the case for Claude Thompson, the owner of Natural Flavas juice bar at 1657 Eglinton Avenue West. He closed his brick-and-mortar store for good on Saturday, just two years after opening.
“Yea we’re doing it, we thought the experience would have been different,” said Thompson. “The numbers are not enough to support a business like this, and given the cost of business today, it makes it a little difficult.”
Thompson said he moved into the Eglinton Avenue West storefront in 2024 because he believed Line 5 would have been opened by then.
“With the constant delays, we kept going, we kept going,” Thompson said. “We heard it was going to open in July, we said okay let’s hold out and see the result …The irony is, now that it’s open, we are closing.”
“The storm was too heavy for us, it’s a bit sad,” he added.
His daughter, Gabrielle, echoed those statements.
“I just think that the foot traffic was necessarily not there from the beginning since the construction started,” she said.
The Thompsons don’t entirely blame the situation on the Eglinton LRT construction, noting that “the character of the neighbourhood has changed significantly” in recent years.
Other business owners in the area like Dhanushka Subeappu Kankanamalage of Kingpin Wings at 1708 Eglinton Avenue West say they are holding out hope that there will be a turn around.
“Right after Line 5 opened, I see a difference, but it will take some time I think,” he explained.
Time is something many businesses located near Oakwood station hope they have. Alicia Bailey, founder of Everblüm Essentials, set up a pop up over the weekend inside a recently opened Souperlicious restaurant.
She said it’s been disheartening to see shops in the community shut down.
“I remember coming up to Little Jamaica with my parents as a child and yeah it’s just sad to see over the years that the construction stopped a lot of businesses,” Bailey said.
Since the start of the Eglinton crosstown construction began in 2011, over 140 stores have shut down for good, according to a 2022 report from the City of Toronto’s economic and community development committee.
Analysts also found that 48 of the 85 Black-owned businesses in Little Jamaica have since shut down.
“As you’ve seen, there are businesses still closing,” Jason McDonald, chair of the Little Jamaica BIA told CityNews. “The foot traffic has not increased, I’m not saying it won’t in the future, however right now, Little Jamaica is in a state of emergency, and we need support from all levels of the government.”
McDonald is also the owner of Casual Beauty Salon at 1572 Eglinton Avenue West, a business that has been in the Little Jamaica neighbourhood for over 25 years.
He said over 300 small businesses have closed during his time there, and fears more will soon suffer the same fate without any intervention.
“We need inquiries. We need compensation immediately and when I say compensation, I’m not talking about for the planters or the streetscape, or for the lights, business owners actually getting direct cheques from the government,” he explained.
As for a public inquiry on the Eglinton crosstown LRT, Premier Doug Ford ruled that out earlier this month.
“Mr. Ford is free to have his opinions, he was elected premier, however, we disagree on this one,” McDonald said.
He added that the Little Jamaica BIA held its first town hall meeting last Thursday, with more meetings expected in the coming weeks as community members contemplate how to revive the business landscape of the neighbourhood.
When it comes to compensation, Metrolinx tells CityNews that it has a “dedicated community benefits and support program for local businesses and social enterprises in Toronto. This includes working with all Eglinton-facing BIAs – including the Little Jamaica BIA – to provide $1.38 million through three City of Toronto grants that provide ongoing financial support for these BIAs in line with the program guidelines and application processes with the funding administered by the City.”
“The community is here,” McDonald added. “We want to serve; however, we need the support.”
Meanwhile, Claude Thompson of Natural Flavas juice bar is hoping stores in Little Jamaica will thrive now that the 15-year Eglinton Crosstown LRT project is complete.
He said he also plans to continue his Natural Flava business, just not through a brick and mortar shop.
“We are more thinking about coming to you rather than you coming to us, so you may see us popping up elsewhere. We’re out of the store, but we’re really not out of business,” he explained. “We’re going to continue.”