A grocery store in Toronto known for its local and organic produce has officially closed its doors following two years in business.
The Sweet Potato, located at 1678 Bayview Ave., opened up in Toronto’s Leaside community in 2023, following the success of its flagship location in The Junction.
The brand’s founder, Digs Dorfman, first started his journey in 2005 when he began running the High Park Organic Market.
Operating with the mentality that eating well shouldn’t cost a fortune, Dorfman began forming relationships with local farmers and officially launched The Sweet Potato.
In 2017, the brand’s Junction location moved into a 100-year-old building on Vine Avenue, just around the corner from its original store, adding a bakery, butcher, and cheese island.
Last week, the grocer’s team announced that their Leaside location would be closing its doors, to the dismay of loyal customers, who relied on the store’s ethically sourced food without the out-of-reach prices that usually accompany it.
“We really wanted to refocus our attention to our flagship store,” Dorfman told blogTO, explaining that the Leaside location faced a lot of issues in terms of delays.
“We opened after the economy had tanked. Costs ballooned out of proportion, and we weren’t anticipating that happening when we first started planning for Bayview. We had a set budget, and there was massive inflation and huge supply chain shortages.”
Following the announcement, customers filled the post’s comment section with heartbroken messages but vowed to keep supporting the brand no matter where they’re located.
“Hard choice to make no doubt, but also an incredible decision to protect the integrity of your flagship store when you recognize the negative impact one store is having on the other! Proud of you and will continue to support you in the Junction for many years,” one person wrote.
“Glad you were closer for a time at least. Sad for us. But we will travel west! All the best to you,” another customer said.
Despite the closure, Dorfman said the company remains optimistic about expansion in the future. “Our business model has a lot of legs, and this was a learning experience for us more than anything,” he explained.
“We still feel very good about our ability to expand our reach, even within our flagship location’s area. Most of our growth, pardon the pun, has been really organic.”
The Sweet Potato’s Leaside location officially closed its doors on Feb. 14, 2025.
“We want to express our gratitude to the Leaside community. I grew up going to high school just a few blocks away from where we opened the store, so it was personal for me to be in that community. I’m just very grateful,” Dorfman said.
The Sweet Potato’s Junction store remains open at 108 Vine Ave. Unit B.
