Toronto small businesses place tombstones in storefronts as symbol of ‘immortality’ not death - Toronto Star

A new awareness campaign, called “Buy Toronto Time,” is aiming to encourage people in the Greater Toronto Area to buy local and now has more than 400 businesses participating.

The campaign involves owners placing a red tombstone poster in their window to stir conversation about the struggles small businesses in the city have faced during lockdown, and encourage support for when they do reopen.

The majority of participating businesses are located in Parkdale, Riverside, Leslieville, Broadview Danforth and Greektown on the Danforth.

Each poster includes the business name and opening date, but the second date is blank — a symbol of the business’s uncertain future.

For many of the business owners, the tombstone symbolizes hope and solidarity.

“I never known a time ever that people have cared so much, whether it’s government or press or the public, about buying local. Like, I think that the message is starting to get through to people,” said Kingi Carpenter of Peach Berserk, a clothing store and event space in Parkdale. “If we don’t support our local businesses, we won’t have them. And the city just (won’t be) as much fun.”

Carpenter says the tombstone is her salute to Parkdale, a community that has supported and welcomed her since she moved there a year ago. For her, “it’s not symbolic of death but immortality.”

“We have to save this neighbourhood. And we can’t save it if all the storefronts are empty,” she said.

“We don’t need another Starbucks in the city but we need more of us,” she added.

According to the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB), the average Canadian small business is $150,000 to $170,000 in debt, with 70 per cent of business owners coping with debt brough on by the pandemic.

Among those businesses, three-quarters will take more than a year to repay loans, the CFIB said.

After being shut down since mid-April, the province is moving into the first step of a gradual, three-stage plan to unfold over the next two months — starting with restaurant patios and some non-essential retailers welcoming customers back Friday.

The reopening will come three days earlier than planned thanks to soaring vaccinations, exceeding 10 million doses, and a steady decline in COVID-19 cases in Ontario. There were 525 new COVID-19 cases Monday, the lowest since late September.

“With a possible end to the pandemic in sight, Torontonians may think that means all businesses will live on. But the fact is they need support now more than ever,” said John Kiru, executive director of Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas.

Scott Olsen of Matchbox Tattoo in Parkdale says the campaign should not be construed as a political movement.

“We want people to remember that, firstly, it’s going to take a long time for us to recover, and make our businesses financially stable. So when things open up, we’ll need their support more than ever,” he said.

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“There’s a lot to consider with reopening. There’s, for us, some of our costs ... Things that we use regularly have completely skyrocketed. Reopening is a scary scenario. It’s whether or not we can reopen and then sustain after we reopen in the climate that we’re in now with COVID.”

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Olsen likes the concept of the tombstone for his store as he feels it lets customers know that his business is still “kicking,” while also commemorating stores that have shut down.

“I think it is definitely eye catching, like a bit of a shocker. But I think that’s what we need,” he said.

Carson Lam is the owner of Great China Herbs Centre on Dundas Street West. Lam’s store, which specializes in herbs and traditional Chinese medicine, has been operating for 54 years and weathered the SARS crisis.

“We just want the public and people who walk by to understand there might be an end to all of this,” said Lam. “Personally, I know many business that have shut down in Chinatown and this initiative is bringing awareness for local communities like this one.”

With files from Rob Ferguson and Robert Benzie

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Toronto small businesses place tombstones in storefronts as symbol of ‘immortality’ not death - Toronto Star
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