An adored Toronto bakery is closing so the landlord’s sister can open a homeopathy clinic
Coco’s, a neighbourhood favourite, will serve its last cable knit latte on January 31
There are some Toronto treasures you hope extra hard to never lose. Sadly, the all-too-common landlord villainy that has shuttered so many beloved local shops has come for Coco’s, a cozy Little Italy bakery known for its joyously ornate birthday cakes.
Earlier today, the bakery’s owners announced on Instagram that they would be closing on January 31. They explained that their landlord had alerted them a week before their lease was up that he wouldn’t be renewing it, after previously having assured them that Coco’s could stay. Not expecting to have to leave, the owners continued to invest in the space, adding a new patio and paying for electrical upgrades. The landlord, meanwhile, said he’d decided to give the space to his sister, who wants to open a homeopathy clinic, according to the post.
“The business has been hitting a stride we’re proud of, but we just don’t have the pockets or the logistical capacity to fund a move, renovation, miss holiday sales and then hire and train new staff to cover my maternity leave all in the span of a few months,” wrote co-owner Nicole Bilyea, who also shared that she’s in her second trimester of pregnancy. “We’re devastated to share this news and hoped we’d have a better update.”
Many Coco’s customers are also devastated, and they left hundreds of comments on social media acknowledging the bakery’s warm and welcoming atmosphere.
Coco’s will stay open until the end of January and will offer a final season of awe-inspiring holiday cakes before they go. We fondly remember the honey mascarpone and buttercream candle cake trio—with pillars of banana cake that actually lit—the pink Swedish Princess cake, and the lemon meringue lambs at Easter.
And now, we’ve never been so sad to place an order for cassata.
Related: A new Toronto by-law designed to combat renovictions is about to be unleashed
Carly Lewis is a journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Times and the New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Wired, Interview Magazine, Pitchfork, Elle, and Maclean’s, where she is a contributing editor. Her work has been recognized by the National Magazine Awards and the Digital Publishing Awards. She reports on city life, culture—including what people do online—politics, art and crime. She received the Dave Greber Freelance Writers Award for “The Murder of Ashley Wadsworth,” an investigative feature about a Canadian teenager who was killed by a man she met on social media, published by Maclean’s.
