After my husband Alnoor passed away, I had to take over all aspects of running the restaurant. This was challenging for me because initially I had to deal with both gender issues and cultural issues. As a woman running a South Asian restaurant I had to fight harder to be taken seriously. Furthermore, because I was born in Canada, I dealt with a backlash from people who thought i wasn’t South Asian enough. Some of my favourite memories are from Canada Day. Alnoor always wanted Canada Day to be something exciting, and to show that we’re giving back to Canada. He used to have flags all over the restaurant, and they used to dance in the street and just really celebrate Canada, He would get all the staff engaged, and celebrate this country and the opportunities that it gave him.
My family emigrated from Scotland just after the war and soon moved to a house on Craven Road. Back then it was quite a mix of Scottish, Irish and English families. I loved living in the area. It was the old fashioned neighbourhood where all the neighbours and shopkeepers knew both you and your parents so you had to behave. As kids we used to go to the Eastwood show on Saturdays for double feature matinees before it became the Naaz theatre. In the late 60’s many families moved to the suburbs and the area became quite depressed. Then the Indian businesses came and it was wonderful. Gerrard Street was lit up with celebrations and it was filled with families and kids. It was just a really warm feeling. I like all of the younger people moving in now and I see the area coming back to a sense of community. The gentrification term I find annoying because for the most part I see people building a community.
We’re busy. Even back in 1947 it was a busy intersection. You know what they say about location, location. I think we fit in very well because it’s such a residential area. Whether it’s now or 10 years from now people are going to have appliances and they'll want to repair them or buy new ones. I think we get along fine with everybody. There’s always the odd one you can never satisfy but 99% of it is fine. I have no plans to leave the neighbourhood. My son works here and he’ll probably take over. When I leave the business it’ll be up to him.
We are giving people a way to be physically active in an exciting and creative way. The confidence development we see in children is phenomenal, not just physically but in school and in life. It does a lot for both your body and soul. We’re very neighbourhood centric. All the families know us because we pick up their kids from schools and walk them here. We donate our time to come out to block and street parties bringing hula hoops, juggling balls or balloon animals. We have a diverse spread of cultures and economic levels coming here and we keep our pricing to a level people can afford. We’re here to be a community. The families now moving into the area tend to be eclectic who want to do something different - and Circus is different. We’re a little bit odd and we appreciate other odd people coming to join us.
We live In Canada. It is a land of immigrants. We give to Canada and we receive from Canada. We were looking for a place to teach, and happened to find one at the right price. Music has two aspects: one is spiritual – through this music, through practice and learning you develop yourself … and knowledge – controlling your ego, your humbleness, respect, patience, organization … music teaches you that. Progress is not a straight line … so what can I do to make it happen? I keep it very open. I try not to segregate. I try to understand what the other person is trying to say or do, or where they are coming from and I promote that in my own environment, with my kids, my parents and everyone else. Problems stem from ignorance, not knowing, lack of knowledge. If you can share with people the knowledge of your culture then you find there is a great similarity between us …. Period!
When we first moved in, two of our neighbours ran out and started helping us move. We saw kids coming out to play hockey in the street. We knew then that we’d made the right decision. The diversity in the neighbourhood is incredible and we wouldn’t change it – it’s important to immerse our kids in it as much as we can. We’re not going anywhere any time soon. When people ask what we’d do if we won the lottery – we’d stay in the neighbourhood.
I moved back to Canada from England and promised my husband that we’d live in a community with a villagey feel. Little India has that, as well as having a world flavour. That’s why I want to live in this community. Gerrard didn’t have an independent coffee shop serving good food and coffee. For example, we’re taking breakfast sandwiches and elevating the quality. We make our own breakfast biscuits. Our eggs are farm fresh. The bacon is from Mennonite farms. Our coffee is micro-roasted locally. I like making sandwiches, I really do. I like to present them, and love when people come up and say, “That was delicious, I really enjoyed it.” Everyone in this neighbourhood is down-to-earth. They are focused on the environment, community, and shopping local. That’s one of the reasons that even if I won the lottery. I wouldn’t want to move.
We like to keep things simple. We wanted to be a gallery because of our art background, we love great coffee and fresh baked goods - every neighbourhood in Toronto should have a coffee shop like that. Our regulars are a very diverse group. Many of the local business owners come in to chat and we all have similar issues, struggles and hopes for the area. I feel very connected to the community. My favourite time is Rhodes jam where we close the street. All the businesses help promote it and the community sets it up and brings their instruments. Everyone comes together and we put on something great. It’s cool to see the area change but I don’t want it to be too fast. I’d love to see a thriving neighbourhood with a lot of foot traffic - a happy vibrant community. That’s my hope.
I’ve been here for almost 35 years. There have been many changes, too many changes. I remember Bargain Harold’s. I remember all the lights - they copied Honest Ed’s. And Kresge’s used to be here too. I was born in Pakistan. I bought a store at Pape and Mortimer. It used to be a grocery store with a bit of butcher. I knew nothing about the butchering. So I came in and I started cutting and we cut our bloody fingers and got used to it! It was all Indian when I first came here - all the clothes and gold shops. There was no other community except Indians. There were very few Pakistanis. It was all Indian owned. That was a busy time. The other thing was this - there was no Bazaar like this in all Ontario and even in the USA. We used to have a lot of customers from the USA. As the dollar went down, their money was good. Everyone was happy. We were making a lot of money; restaurants, me, all of us.
We raised two kids here but there was no place to shop without getting into a car or getting on the TTC. So we decided to open up in the neighbourhood and help fill some of the empty storefronts. We have galleries now, artists doing murals, stores like us that service young families, and South Asian businesses that bring in people from outside the immediate area. Being able to maintain that dynamic mix is key. A lot of people want to see this all dramatically changed - that’s not our desire. I’m hoping for a cool mix of stores where you can spend a whole weekend in your own neighbourhood and not leave unless you want to. We love being part of this community. There are a lot of really interesting people who live here, and very different people. There are times around Christmas when our hours are long and people show up with snacks for us or a coffee. It’s that kind of small community.
I just wanted a space that is down to earth, inclusive, without a lot of politics, and that is cooperative and communal in spirit. We do a lot of events – fiddle classes, meditation workshops, painting classes, printmaking and puppet-making workshops, pop-up markets - and people see the work on the walls. There’s a lot of cross-pollination. We feel very welcomed. The great fallout of something like this is the positive effects on the community, beyond what you can imagine. When I first moved to this neighbourhood it was pretty rough, so I’m happy to see the changes happening now. But I don’t want to see the East Indian flavour change too much because its so colourful and gorgeous. I think the neighbourhood is going to thrive no matter what.
I took my first streetcar ride from the Beaches to Little India and fell in love with the area. It’s a great community here; young families and a lot of great, diverse families. Each of them bring their own beauty and culture and attitudes and energies – that’s what I love about the area. I like to bring in things that people can do something with and that’s when I get to see the evolution of somebody’s home - they bring me pictures. Every time someone comes in to the shop, sees something and says “Oh my God”, it gives my heart a lift. What I bring to the neighbourhood is very little compared to what they bring to me. What’s happened to this neighbourhood is essential. There were a lot of run down homes. It’s essential to the community that it be brought up to date and rejuvenated.
It’s not the same Gerrard it used to be. Over the past few decades there’s been a decline in the street. Shops and restaurants have closed, leaving empty storefronts. Lately there’s been a resurgence in the area, with new shops and restaurants opening. The area is slowly getting back to its shape. The Gerrard Indian Bazaar was the perfect location for opening our restaurant. This area is always open to new ideas regarding cuisine. Not only Indian, but Chinese, Egyptian, Italian, and Thai restaurants are thriving in the neighbourhood. Having diversity within the business market can be good for the neighbourhood. With more dining options on the street, it’s only natural for the customer to cross over to another restaurant from time to time. So, not only is it good for the customer, the restaurant benefits as well by getting the new customers who wish to try another ethnic cuisine.
At first it was hard. My English was not very good and I never sewed before. One day I bought the business and the next day I learned how to use the machine. I was very nervous. But now I’m professional. Young people moving to the area is good for business. They have good jobs, good education and little time. They spend money, everything is fast - they don’t want to talk to you about the price. Over 20 years I see children going to school, they marry, have their own children and they still come here. I really enjoy it. I love my job now. I know a lot of people, they talk to me and I can learn English. Canadians are very nice. They are really patient teaching me.
It’s amazing to be part of the history of this place, which first opened in 1948. People come in and tell me that they used to come to this restaurant with their grandparents when they were little kids. When I hear that, it really gets me, and makes me realize how much this place means to the community. In many ways, the customers are the owners, not me. They won’t let me change anything, unless they are okay with it too. I can’t change the colours, or the furniture. Even moving the TV across the room caused an uproar. I love that they treat this place like it’s part of their family.
The pizza oven comes from back home. It’s very heavy. The oven weighs 5000 pounds so we had to reinforce the floor - big job. It was custom made for me in Naples. The pizza dough recipe is 200 years old - water, sea salt, flour, and yeast. It’s a traditional recipe. I don’t change it at all. I like the area. Lots of Canadian people, lots of families. Everyone know pizza. I just opened the door one day and people came.