The Junction

[Seymour]

Josef, that's hillarious!

P.S. Gord Perks is a very reasonable man and a fantastic councillor, give him a shout: councillor_perks@toronto.ca

http://www.gordperks.ca/ward/

'Scuse me but Perks looks good on paper, yes that is true, I voted for him last election, but after having met him, he has proven to be someone who blindly accepts one person's opinion because they are his friend, without looking at 2 sides of things, and he's riding the 'green wave'. Lobbyist indeed. Another stronger environmental candidate is greatly desired in Ward 14, to throw the little Perks man back onto the garbage pile from whence he came. Not getting my vote this time Perks. No way in hell.

[Maggie]

'Scuse me but Perks looks good on paper, yes that is true, I voted for him last election, but after having met him, he has proven to be someone who blindly accepts one person's opinion because they are his friend, without looking at 2 sides of things, and he's riding the 'green wave'. Lobbyist indeed. Another stronger environmental candidate is greatly desired in Ward 14, to throw the little Perks man back onto the garbage pile from whence he came. Not getting my vote this time Perks. No way in hell.

My jury is still out on this guy, sure he's a nice guy in person but I think he's trying to be the nice guy to hard at City Hall when he is supposed to be representing our ward. On the plus side he got the Avenue study for the area and the Roncey Reno approval. On the minus side he is a Millerite and one who is against pool funding.

Now back to the Junction. I love the Junction the area is improving by the minute I love the trendy shops there and restaurants. I appreciate the pictures that Urbandreamer and Junctionist have provided. Thanx so much

[sungs]

loving the progress of the junction. I like how they're restoring the storefront above curry twist. Nice to see all the new things pop up, but don't we have enough of the "organic" type places? how about a couple of classy bars?

anyone know of the progress of the public space they wanted to set up? i think around dundas and north on pacific?

also kind of unrelated, but seeing as how the railway project won't exactly go all the way downtown(at least not anytime soon), i was thinking in terms of biking, i would go west along dundas st w till it turns into roncesvalles. my question with regards to the roncesvalles re-construction will there be dedicated bike lanes making this a safe path?

[Seymour]

loving the progress of the junction. I like how they're restoring the storefront above curry twist. Nice to see all the new things pop up, but don't we have enough of the "organic" type places? how about a couple of classy bars?

anyone know of the progress of the public space they wanted to set up? i think around dundas and north on pacific?

I agree we need some more grocery stores, not big box ones like no frill but smaller ones like in BWV or Roncevalles. Junction Public space initiative is still there, but a large fundraising campaign needs to be embarked on, in the form of government support and private funding not to mention the city permits needed. Any takers?

[Seymour]

So...when's the Jucntion BIA going to rent a dumpster??? Can they even get it together enough to make a phone call ?

[Hooked]

“This could become the Abbot Kinney Boulevard of Toronto”

Yesterday, the Sunday NYTimes printed an article on the 'hood:

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/07/05...surfacing.html

They left out a few other interesting spots (Smash, Post & Beam, residential side streets, etc) but hey, it's nice to get noticed...

[sungs]

“This could become the Abbot Kinney Boulevard of Toronto”

Yesterday, the Sunday NYTimes printed an article on the 'hood:

http://travel.nytimes.com/2009/07/05...surfacing.html

They left out a few other interesting spots (Smash, Post & Beam, residential side streets, etc) but hey, it's nice to get noticed...

so awesome...this 'hood is full of awesomeness.

[urbandreamer]

Gingerbread House Family Cafe at Indian Grove and Dundas West sucks. The place needs a total revamp, because it's just not cool enough to be noticed. I understand the owner is a restaurant newbie, but really, if she wants to make it, she'd better hire me to re-do the interior! Also, the cafe lacks focus--it is really just a bland interpretation of neighbour Cool Hand of a Girl, minus the awesome brunch. Oddly, for a family-friendly business (there's a kids play area--a good idea that is poorly executed) Gingerbread House isn't open after 5PM nor on Sunday! Duh!

The owner is friendly--but perhaps clueless as to what makes a successful business?

Here's a photo I took the other day:



Huge disappointment!

(edit: Are the gingerbread cookies baked in house?)

A block further west, True Blue Vintage shows better business sense with a funky storefront signage:

[Hooked]

Gingerbread House Family Cafe at Indian Grove and Dundas West sucks.

Where to begin? I don't get this place either. The strangest choice has to be the painted candy-cane security bars in the window.

I'm also dreading the mural that has been commissioned.

[urbandreamer]

Great blistering barnacles! But that stunning retail corner unit, SE corner of Dundas and Quebec, has finally sold! Wow! Wonder what hot boutique/cafe opens there soon?

[Junction]

Twitter Junction...

If you're on Twitter and occasionally post about the Junction, whether to describe your experience at a local cafe, post your opinion on latest development or just say HI to fellow Junctionites, add #JunctionTO to your messages

[sungs]

out of curiousity...which corner of keele dundas do u guys suspect will be the most likely spot for a future starbucks or second cup? north west, north east, or south east? not saying im pulling for it, but seems inevitable in the long run...

side note, eye weekly has this profile of the junction 'hood:
http://www.eyeweekly.com/neighbourho...junction/62119

[Junction]

Thanks for the link, Sungs, I haven't seen it yet!

Honestly, I'd welcome Starbucks at Dundas and Keele (choose a corner, any corner) any time over Money Mart or that drug-addicts/criminals restaurant hangout

P.S. I prefer Starbucks over Second Cup, I know Second Cup is a Canadian business but Starbucks also hires locals, pays them and treats them better than the Second Cup, not to mention Starbucks washrooms are large and offer baby changing tables, this area has the highest birth rate in North America. Ya, "big box" coffee shops are considered evil but they make sense in certain locations... on the other note, isn't Junction already overcaffeinated?

[sungs]

Thanks for the link, Sungs, I haven't seen it yet!

Honestly, I'd welcome Starbucks at Dundas and Keele (choose a corner, any corner) any time over Money Mart or that drug-addicts/criminals restaurant hangout

P.S. I prefer Starbucks over Second Cup, I know Second Cup is a Canadian business but Starbucks also hires locals, pays them and treats them better than the Second Cup, not to mention Starbucks washrooms are large and offer baby changing tables, this area has the highest birth rate in North America. Ya, "big box" coffee shops are considered evil but they make sense in certain locations... on the other note, isn't Junction already overcaffeinated?

ya, you know what, i don't think the world is going to end if a starbucks/second cup arrives, as long as some of the ma's and pa's places stick around. and ya the money mart and galaxy donuts are good spots for something else. a decent bar/lounge/cafe suits the place.

speaking of overcaffeinated, i think the junction almost also over-organicfied :P lol. thank god for bronto burgers and purple onion balance it out. i think the more variety the better. maybe a sushi restaraurant or something, and i'd still like to see that public square around pacific.

one thing i hope, is that the no frills ALWAYS stays. the challenge with the gentrification thing is maintaing a place that is affordable, and budget wise, i'd prefer a no frills over a metro any day. i have a friend who lives in liberty village and their only grocery chain nearby is metro and damn that place is expensive.

[junctionist]

Metro also has their terrible exterior design which is especially unfortunate in the Annex. Though the Junction does have a Metro in the big box zone on the edge, it's isolated from the heart because of the tracks and its distance from Keele.

But I would really like to see the No Frills site reconfigured to eliminate the surface parking lot which seems at odds with the small street.