Finch Store, a grocery on a quiet corner in Little Italy, was meant to be a fresh start for Yana Miriev, an Israeli immigrant and former nurse—a welcoming spot where locals could pick up essentials and specialty goods. Instead, it has become an unlikely battleground in a long-running fight over Toronto’s outdated zoning laws and what kinds of businesses belong in residential neighbourhoods.
The trouble started in 2023, when Miriev began selling freshly brewed coffee from her store. She had written approval from city officials to do so but, weeks after the caffeine started flowing, a bylaw officer informed her that she was violating zoning rules. What followed was a tangle of conflicting regulations and the looming threat of a tribunal hearing that could strip Miriev of her licence and force her to close shop.
For years, city hall has considered loosening zoning restrictions to allow more small-scale commercial establishments in residential areas, but some homeowners have pushed back with concerns about noise and disruption. Meanwhile, supporters argue that shops like Finch Store are essential for building vibrant, walkable neighbourhoods. Here, Miriev breaks down how serving a few cups of joe triggered a bureaucratic boondoggle.
How does a nurse end up running the city’s most hotly debated corner store? My husband, Albek, and I immigrated with our two daughters from Israel in 2012, settling in Newmarket. I worked as a registered nurse for a decade, but the exhaustingly long shifts in neonatal intensive care took a toll. I’d always dreamed of running my own business, so in 2022, we decided to take the leap. We bought two businesses—Martin Espresso Bar on Bloor and Finch Store on Dewson Street, just north of College and Ossington.
Albek managed the espresso bar, and Finch Store was my responsibility. I wanted to create something unique for the neighbourhood. We had staples like eggs and milk, but we also focused on high-quality groceries you can’t find in big box stores—foods like hummus and labneh from Good Fork, a nearby restaurant, as well as other locally sourced products like baked goods and frozen meals.
When did your trouble with the city begin? We quickly became a popular stop for locals. But, after a year, it became clear that selling groceries alone wouldn’t be enough to keep us afloat. Our retail licence allowed us to sell refreshments for takeout, so adding coffee to our offerings seemed like a natural and easy way to boost our revenue. I double-checked with the city that I had permission before buying an espresso machine. They assured me it was fine—they even put it in writing. Then, less than a month after we began selling coffee, a bylaw officer showed up at our door with bad news. An anonymous complaint had been lodged against us, and suddenly we were told that we were breaking the rules. I felt completely blindsided.
What was the problem? It turned out that the city’s zoning bylaw prohibits retailers in residential areas like ours from selling any refreshments prepared on-site, even for takeout. The city admitted that it had made a mistake years earlier by approving our licence, which it had originally issued to the previous owner of our shop. And we were asked to voluntarily amend our licence so that we’d be permitted to sell only prepackaged food and beverages.
Doing so would have meant closing the store: there was just no way we could keep our doors open without selling coffee, which made up roughly 10 per cent of our revenue and was essential for our survival. When we refused to comply, we were told we’d be subject to a hearing at the Toronto Licensing Tribunal, which had the power to suspend or even revoke our licence. This was just a preliminary notice—there wasn’t a date or time set for our hearing yet, so it just hung over our heads for months. It occupied my thoughts all the time.
Even though the city admitted to their oversight, I felt they treated us in their correspondence as if we knowingly violated the bylaw. It was incredibly frustrating. I kept thinking, “How could they make this kind of mistake and then expect us to pay the price?” We had poured thousands of dollars into equipment and staff training, and they expected us to just throw it all away.
What happened next? I was desperate, especially because I couldn’t afford to pay a legal adviser to support me in the tribunal hearing. I emailed the office of Alejandra Bravo, my ward’s councillor, to ask for her help, but months passed without a response. When I finally heard back from her office, all they could tell me was that they couldn’t intervene since my case was in the midst of the tribunal process.
I hung a banner on the store asking customers to support us by signing a petition addressed to the city and Councillor Bravo. We simply asked the city to allow us to continue operating with our existing licence. One of our customers startedan online petition. Between that and our in-store petition, we had approximately 5,000 signatures by last summer. The public pressure pushed the city to put our tribunal hearing on hold and Bravo’s office finally promised to try to help.
Where does that leave you? The city had already been holding public consultations on zoning bylaw amendments to permit small-scale businesses like corner stores and coffee shops in residential areas. So, they decided to defer our tribunal hearing until June of 2025, when our next licence renewal was scheduled, or until city council made a decision on those zoning changes—whichever came first. In the meantime, we were allowed to continue operating under the existing licence.
In December, city council finally met to review those changes. Councillor Bravo tried to convince her fellow councillors to make the amendments, but council ultimately decided to defer the issue for further consultations with resident associations and the public. One reason council called for more consultations was some homeowners’ concerns about potential disruptions from commercial activity—especially from bars, vape shops and cannabis stores.
Do you think they have a point? I believe their concerns are valid, especially if businesses like bars operate late and play loud music or create disturbances. But small family-friendly businesses like grocery stores or coffee shops shouldn’t be lumped into the same category. The zoning bylaws are outdated and treat a lot of businesses the same way, which slows down much-needed changes. It would make more sense to have clearer distinctions in the regulations for different types of businesses. What matters most is that corner stores benefit neighbourhoods, but the current bylaws make it incredibly hard for them to exist.
Do you dream of a Toronto with stores like yours on every street? Corner stores make neighbourhoods more walkable and accessible. That makes us less reliant on cars and reduces traffic across the city. The overwhelming support we received—from regulars who come to the store every day and from Torontonians who hope to have a store like ours in their own neighbourhood someday—shows how important these spaces are to communities. They promote local shopping and help build stronger, more connected neighbourhoods.
What do you think it says about Toronto that so much time and effort has been spent debating your right to sell coffee? Honestly, it’s ridiculous. If the municipality is bogged down with minor things like this, it’s a sign that something isn’t working at a fundamental level. There are far more important problems the city should be addressing. I was also surprised by how much attention this minor issue received from the public. The fact that people have spent days passionately debating whether a tiny grocery store should be allowed to sell coffee shows just how deeply locals care about their neighbourhoods. It may also be a Toronto thing—there always seems to be a vocal minority in any neighbourhood ready to complain about some new development.
Where do things stand for Finch Store today? City council may have another meeting about the zoning changes later this winter, but until then, we’re in limbo. We’re still selling coffee, and the avalanche of support we’ve received keeps me optimistic. But, at the same time, it’s stressful not knowing what will happen in the long term or whether we’ll be able to renew our licence later this summer without more complications. Even if we decided to move on and sell the store, we likely wouldn’t be able to find a buyer with our licence up in the air. We have no control over the future. Our lives are on hold until the city makes a decision.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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Ali Amad is a Palestinian-Canadian journalist based in Toronto. His work has appeared in publications including Toronto Life, Maclean’s, Vice, Reader’s Digest and the Walrus, often exploring themes of identity, social justice and the immigrant experience.