Downtown Eastside - Old Town - Corktown : In The News

Toronto's Soulpepper Theater Company is revamping its business model with the goal of producing more quality plays on smaller budget. As reported by the Globe & Mail, Soulpepper's artistic director Albert Schultz has combined the North American and European model of financing nonprofit theater to create the perfect financing hybrid for one of Canada's premier theater companies.

"What's the biggest economic problem with the way non-profit theatres operate in North America? The inflexibility of inventory.

"Soulpepper Theatre Company artistic director Albert Schultz thinks he has the fix, however.

Over the past 12 years, Schultz and his colleagues have built the classical company up from a two-play summer season to a year-round operation with its own Toronto venue. For its 2011 season it's upping its productions to a whopping 17 from last year's 12.
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"But Schultz expects its production costs will only increase by about 14 per cent."

"How is that possible? According to Schultz, it's because the company is no longer using the North American model to manage its inventory."

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original source Globe & Mail

Fast Company encourages visitors to Toronto to check out the city's Distillery District, citing the addition of a sake brewery as yet another reason the District is worth the trip. The repurposed Gooderham and Worts site, already known for its concentration of restaurants, boutiques, and galleries, will be the home of The Ontario Spring Water Sake Company by this comping April.

"For first-time travelers to Toronto, it's often Yorkville and West Queen West that get most of the love. But another part of downtown that's also worth a trip is the Distillery District, on the east side. This complex of Victorian-era stone and brick buildings, now a multi-use development, is already known for its restaurants and boutiques. Come April, the area will also get its own sake brewery, the Ontario Spring Water Sake Company. It will be a true rarity, one of just a handful of sake-makers in North America, and the only one on the eastern half."

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original source Fast Company

As reported by Xtra, a new cafe called Fabarnak has opened in the 519 Church Street Community Center to serve as training ground for people with employment challenges. Built using a $30,000 start-up grant from the Toronto Enterprise Fund, Fabarnak had its "soft opening" on October 15 and will celebrate its official grand opening this November.

"Fabarnak, now open for business, will celebrate its official grand opening in November, says Matthew Cutler, manager of resource and development at The 519. Oct 14 was the eatery's "soft opening."

"Cutler, munching on a brownie and sipping coffee, says he loves the openness of the caf� and the connection with Church St through the expansive front windows. "I really feel part of the neighbourhood when I sit here having coffee," he says. "I can look out the windows and see cars rushing by and people walking their dogs."

"The caf�, which has been in development for about a year, will serve as a training ground for people with employment challenges, a key element in the community centre's expansion, he says."

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original source Xtra

Regina Sheung, owner of the successful Yonge Street fashion boutique Propaganda, has opened up a new and entirely different kind of shop in Toronto's Cabbage Town neighbourhood. Sheung's new boutique, Labour of Love, sells an eclectic mix of goods, from handmade jewellery to irreverent greeting cards to antique furniture. The National Post interviews Sheung on her decision to open the new store and its early success. An excerpt:

"Yonge and Bloor is an amazing neighbourhood and Propaganda is great, but I've been doing it for a while," Sheung says of the challenge of opening a second, very different boutique. "I wanted to be a bit more sophisticated." She's going to be more creative, "push the boundary a little bit. Most retail stores you really need to jam-pack the shelves but here I'm able to have big space and displays."

"When I opened Propaganda, I was very scared and didn't know what to expect," she says, "but now I am even more scared because I know what it takes! It's like a roller-coaster ride, but you have to hold your breath and just let it go."

"Roller-coaster, or second baby. "I'm here all the time, trying to meet everybody and learn what I should buy for the store," she says. "You have to. A buyer cannot be just a buyer, you have to work the floor, engage with people, what size are they, get to know what they like, what age they are, so you make the fewest buying mistakes possible."

"Although, Sheung adds philosophically, "you make your own mistakes, but you earn your own success."

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original source National Post

The Toronto Star reports on the success of Ontario's independent beer breweries. Craft beers sales have "gone through the roof" across the province's Beer Stores and LCBOs. And Toronto is at the forefront of this local beer movement. Suds from Toronto's Mill Street brewery are consistently a top seller, while restaurants across the city (especially "traditionally non-beercentric" ones) are now waking up to the craft beer trend. Ossington avenue's B�hmer and Wellington's Le S�lect Bistro are two Toronto restaurants offering carefully selected local and international beers.

"Mill Street brewmaster Joel Manning, who's been part of the local brewing scene since 1986, believes part of the reason for craft beer's growing success is that it's simply being better made better."

"People doing the work have different skill-sets than they had back then when I started. Technically, the brewing is at a much higher standard, for the most part," says Manning, adding that drinkers are also becoming more savvy about different beer styles.

"Restaurants are also starting to realize there's good beer being made on their doorsteps. With the local food movement gaining strength, serving locally produced beers with locally grown food is a natural fit, says Brad Long, chef/owner at Veritas restaurant and My Place pub."

"Part of what's appealing about serving local food is being able to look the person in the eye who created it, and to see their passion. With these guys (local brewers), you can definitely see the passion,'' says Long during the recent Brewers Plate."

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original source Toronto Star

Toronto's Women's College Hospital and United Way Toronto have been recognized for their contributions in promoting diversity in the city. As reported by the Toronto Star, both organizations are receiving  "the diversity in governance" award--presented by Maytree Foundation and the Toronto City Summit Alliance--for their efforts "in creating inclusive boards, reflecting the people they serve".

" Thirty per cent of board members at Women's College Hospital and 39 per cent at United Way Toronto belong to ethnic and racial minorities. These numbers put both institutions well ahead of other organizations in the Greater Toronto Area."

"Diversity is a matter of fairness, of course. But studies show that diversity in leadership also contributes to better corporate performance and more creative thinking."

"We live in one of the most ethnically and racially diverse regions in the world, but you wouldn't know it by looking at our boardrooms, executive offices or the halls of government. And that failure to diversify at the top holds everyone back."

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original source the Toronto Star

Celebrity chef and entrepreneur Jamie Kennedy, one of the best-known names in the Toronto restaurant scene, is back cooking in Toronto after disappearing for most of 2009 to deal with various business crises. The National Post reports that Kennedy is now cooking at the Gilead Bistro, a 40-seat caf� located in Corktown, while slowly working to " rebuild his business methodically and creatively" .

"The local-food advocate admits he probably spent too much time on his activism, and not enough on his business at a time when the industry was being decimated by recession.

"I may have been asleep at the wheel in terms of the overall business,'' Mr. Kennedy said. "But I'm home now, I'm a cook first and foremost, this [the kitchen] is where I'm most comfortable."�.

Mr. Kennedy acknowledges he was disappointed at his business failures, but said he is excited at the prospect of returning to his cooking roots. His wildly successful Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar debuted in 2003, but five years of rapid growth led Mr. Kennedy to acknowledge he was spread too thin and lost focus.

As his business presence grew, Mr. Kennedy also became increasingly influential as a food activist; championing the local food movement through public appearances, involvement with farmers markets and an unwavering commitment to his network of local producers.

With his eyes firmly fixed on Gilead for the time being, Mr. Kennedy said he will limit his public appearances as he looks to rebuild his business methodically and creatively."

click here to read the full National Post article