Danforth fixture The Cook’s Place to pack it in after 14 years
After supplying Toronto with coveted Japanese knives, top-of-the-line cookware and innumerable last-minute foodie gifts for 14 years, Barbara Ackerman, owner of The Cook’s Place, is shuttering her Danforth Avenue fixture for good in order to spend more time with her five-month-old grandchild. “Running this shop has made me a part of so many families in the neighbourhood,” she told us. “What I sell is about feeding the family, and to be able to share that with my customers has been incredible.”
As loyal customers hear the news, they’re dropping by and sending emails expressing sadness and gratitude and, most likely, eyeballing the stock—Ackerman plans on deep discounts starting in February. “I want to get everything sold by the third week in March,” she said. In the meantime, the New York native is taking a little time off to reunite with some friends from her old Ocean Parkway neighbourhood in Brooklyn. “When I was growing up in Brooklyn and you entered someone’s house, they would always ask, ‘Jeet?’ That means, ‘Did you eat?’ But you’ve got to say it with a New York accent. You see, I come from food.” Ackerman tells us she’s feeling sad about closing up shop, but not conflicted: “It’s the right thing to do at this point in my life.”
The Cooks Place, 501 Danforth Ave., 416-461-5211, thecooksplace.com.
