Toronto business that’s been a community staple is shutting down

A local business in Toronto that’s a neighbourhood favourite is closing down, and though the closure may be temporary, there’s no telling when — or where — it’ll be making its comeback.

Serving up the somewhat peculiar — but who am I to judge? It works! — combination of homemade soup and gourmet popsicles from a charming Oakwood Village storefront and kitchen for the past four years, Soul Provisions is a whole lot more than your average local delicatessen.

The business, which originated as Toronto Soup Co., a family project for owner Sara Schwartz Gellar and her kids in 2018, quickly blossomed into a fruitful venture that prides itseld in serving some of the best soup in Toronto.

Toronto Soup Co. opened its innaugural brick-and-mortar, Soul Provisions, in Oakwood Village just two months before the Covid-19 pandemic shut down the entire world in 2020, but, despite the odds, the business grew at an exponential rate.

“We sell soups that are 100% natural and low-sodium,” Sara tells blogTO, “so people were really coming to us when they needed comfort during that time.”

Sara and her partner (both in life and business), Matt, began marketing towards people living outside of Toronto who had loved ones in the city, creating care packages full of soups and various other comfort foods that people could send to their ailing friends and family to feel better.

It’s not just the comfort food aspect that’s earned Soul Provisions the distinction of being a community pillar, though, Sara’s also developed a robust program that allows less-fortunate members of the neighbourhood to eat, even if they might not be able to afford it.

In addition to serving up some of the best soups in Toronto, the business also operates a give-back enterprise that they call “Soupempathy,” wherein each litre of soup sold also buys a portion of soup to be given to community members in need.

On top of all that, though, Soul Provisions is simply a great place to go, featuring a small, sunny patio perfect for popsicles and a cast of characters always ready and beyond willing to lend a smile.

“We developed a really strong relationship with our community,” Sara tells blogTO, referring to Soul Provisions as “one of the heartbeats” of Oakwood Village.

It’s the end of an era (but also the start of a new chapter) for Soul Provisions, though, as the Vaughan Road storefront will be shutting its doors as of Sunday, Nov. 17, with no word quite yet on when or where the replacement location will be opening.

The way that Soul Provisions grew, Sara says, was “beyond [her] wildest expectations,” but it’s also meant that, in the past five years, the business is rapidly outgrowing the cozy corner shop it was born from.

“We came to the end of our five-year lease, and I just realized that we’d maxxed out on what we can accomplish in this space,” Sara shares, “but, as a small business owner, I have to keep growing.”

So, Sara and the Soul Provisions team made the decision not to renew the lease and to begin searching for a new home for the business, exploring spaces that Sara could own, rather than continuing to rent.

“With our empathy program and paying all of our staff a living wage, the business is basically a break even venture,” Sara tells blogTO. “So, I realized that, in order for this to be profitable, I need to buy a building.”

According to Sara, the journey towards finding a new home for Soul Provisions has been equal parts exciting and frustrating, as the search for the perfect space continues to drag on even a year after the decision to move was made.

“I was hoping it was going to be very smooth, and we’d just close down here and open in our new location,” Sara tells blogTO, but the reality of the situation has proved to be anything but.

“We’ve been outbid on probably five buildings,” she says, noting that, needing financing and building inspections, the properties have frequently been scooped up by developers and investors with more spare cash on their hands, and no need to inspect the buildings when they merely plan to knock them down and build anew.

“We’re operating something very special,” Sara tells blogTO, “and it takes a lot to find the right place.”

So, for the time being, Soul Provisions finds themselves without a home — but that’s not going to keep them from providing their much-loved soups to the community in the interim.

Sara says that the business is already planning a number of pop-ups while the search continues, partnering with other local businesses in Oakwood Village to offer soups that they’ll be making from a remote commercial kitchen in the interim.

They’ve also altered some of their recipes to freeze better, so that fans of the business can stock up well in advance.

For those who want an extra dose of Soul Provisions before their hiatus, you can stop by during their regular business hours to stock up on the last batches of all your favourite soups and ‘sicles, or visit the shop on Saturday, Nov. 16 between 12 and 3 p.m. for their Grand Finale Patio Party, which will feature live music, grilled cheese and oyster pop-ups and, of course, soup.

“We’re here to delight,” Sara says, “that’s why we exist.”

Soul Provisions is currently located at 571 Vaughan Road.