Kensington Market is about to lose one of its most recognizable food counters. After 35 years of feeding the neighbourhood, Jumbo Empanadas, the tiny Augusta Ave shop known for its Chilean comfort food and massive empanadas, is preparing to say goodbye as owner Irene Morales looks to lease the space.
The loss is a major blow to the neighbourhood. Over the years, the menu has stayed consistent at the space: chicken, beef and veggie empanadas, as well as beloved Chilean staples like humitas (corn, onion and basil wrapped and steamed in corn leaves), and corn pie (beef and chicken layered with onions, olives, eggs and topped with sweet corn).
According to the Toronto Star, Morales says she can’t keep gambling with her health on a shaky economy, especially as ingredient costs climb and foot traffic on Augusta Ave feels thinner than it once did.
Morales’s story is the perfect representation of the Market’s broader immigrant history: people who arrived with skills and recipes and built places that became landmarks.
She previously worked for Chile’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for 17 years, then came to Toronto and worked at the Chilean consulate before she began selling food on the side. Jumbo Empanadas started as a home business in 1988, serving empanadas and humitas to the local Chilean community. In 1991, Morales began operating out of a repurposed hot-dog cart in Kensington Market, selling empanadas and humitas on weekends.
She later moved into a basement kitchen space on Augusta Ave, before relocating to her current storefront in 1999, eventually buying the building years later. Still, even without paying rent, Morales says the math no longer works.
“We used to sell a lot of empanadas and were able to keep the same prices but suddenly I can’t afford it,” she told the Toronto Star. “The cheese we use was $15 and now it’s $45 for the same amount. The meat went up too much. We don’t use ground beef, we have it ground for us by the butcher so you’re not getting cheap ingredients. The people at the food terminal know I only choose the best tomatoes.”
And this isn’t the first time the neighbourhood has had to fight for Jumbo’s survival. In 2021, the restaurant reopened after a six-month fire-related closure, and community supporters helped bridge the gap with a GoFundMe that raised over $12,000 at the time.
The recent news lands amid broader pressure on the restaurant industry, with closures mounting and some restaurants hitting “pause” before reopening under new names, locations or with revamped menus. A forecast from the Dalhousie University Agri-Food Analytics Lab estimates that about 7,000 restaurants closed across Canada last year, with another 4,000 closures projected in 2026. The Toronto Association of Business Improvement Areas has also cited mounting pressures on independent restaurants, pointing to, among other issues, higher rents and less foot traffic.
For now, there’s no set closing date. We do know that Morales has already put the space up for lease, with one request: that if a new tenant takes over, Jumbo Empanadas gets a month to say goodbye.
Visit Jumbo Empanadas at 245 Augusta Ave in the Kensington Market.
