THE COFFEE TIME LORE OF DUPONT & LANSDOWNE

Ghosts of Toronto's Past | Rebecca Barrett

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In my Weird Heritage article last fall, I had initially wanted to include the Coffee Time located at the corner of Dupont and Lansdowne. But the more people I talked to and the more research I did, the more I realized that it was part of a larger and more complex evolution happening in the Dupont corridor right now. This article is my response to that evolution: it is a dedicated look at the lore of Coffee Time and its sad demise as the result of gentrification.

Around the turn of the 20th century, Dupont Street (especially around Davenport) was one of Toronto’s primary manufacturing districts. There were factories, mills, and warehouses such as the Ford factory and showroom, and the Toronto Evening Telegram office. But in the 70s and 80s, zoning restrictions and pollution required many of these factories to close their doors. Most of the residents moved out to the suburbs and the area remained largely industrial and low-income.

One of the numerous empty and deserted warehouses on Dupont. Source.

At the northeast corner of Dupont and Lansdowne, there used to be a Coffee Time. Simply put, this Coffee Time is the stuff of legend. Pure Toronto legend. Because the area is notorious for crime and poorly policed, the Coffee Time had become known as a huge hub for prostitution and drugs. But, more than that, it served as a gathering place and community hub in the neighbourhood, even providing a public-access computer for patrons who may not have had access to one at home. Without passing judgment on the activities conducted on its premises, the Coffee Time was a landmark in Toronto and had a prominent presence in the lives of thousands of people in the neighbourhood. A Canadian rapper, D-Sisive, even wrote a song called Coffee Time at Dupont & Lansdowne, referring to Coffee Time as “a donut decorated crack house.” So…there’s that.

In 2018, the Coffee Time was sold to condominium developers and closed its doors permanently (although, weirdly, I think it continues to operate as an independent coffee and muffin shop, on a month-by-month basis). This news was received with both glee and sorrow – some thought it was sad to say goodbye to such a long-standing Toronto landmark, others thought it was good because the neighbourhood would become safer. In any case, the drama didn’t stop there.

A photo showing the proximity of the Coffee Time to the offending Food Basics. Source.

At this point, condominiums had already been slowing rising along Dupont, changing the landscape to attract young families and yuppies. One such condominium development was located on Lansdowne across from the Coffee Time. It had initially planned to build a new Metro grocery store for the community, but decided to open a Food Basics instead, Metro’s discount chain. This was probably to cater to the large low-income demographic still living in the area, but this decision was met with absolute and unadulterated mass hysteria. The condo residents started a public petition to replace the Food Basics with the Metro they had been promised. Eventually, the outcry became so absurd that the Beaverton weighed in. The push towards exclusionary gentrification was intense, but as far as I can tell, Food Basics still stands today.

In the past few years, there has also been a surge of independent art galleries moving up to Dupont, and an increased interest in turning the old abandoned warehouses into loft and co-op arts spaces (where before they had been common resting places for squatters). With news headlines such as “Is Dupont the Next Ossington?” and “Is Dupont the Next Liberty Village?”, it seems like it was somewhat inevitable that Coffee Time would be sold to build condos. Nonetheless, it served its community well and resisted gentrification as long as it could. Long-standing landmarks like Coffee Time – which affect everyone’s lives, both positively and negatively – contribute to the culture of a community and define it both from within and outside. As a result, all the new developments and changes happening along the Dupont corridor constitute a definite change in the community’s identity and spirit. Maybe it’s a good change, maybe it’s a bad change -- that depends on who you ask. But either way, it deserves our commemoration.

RIP Coffee Time, ?? -- 2018. Source.