[URBAN NOTE] Why are Toronto’s Queer-Inclusive Shops Shutting Down?"
Jeremy Willard writes at Torontoist about the many problems facing Toronto's queer businesses. I did not know that Come As Your Are had closed down.
From the outside, Come As You Are appeared like any other storefront on Queen West. But get a little closer, and the shop slowly revealed itself to passersby: vibrators sat in the front window, and lime green interior walls reflected the bright and adventurous toys sold inside. The shop was unabashedly sexy-and for years, it had been considered one of the most sex-positive and LGBTQ-friendly sex stores in the city.
But, that has come to an end. Come As You Are is now closed, reverting to an online-only store-and another one of Toronto’s queerer businesses has been forced to shut its doors.
The store gave no warning that its final day of business would be Sunday, August 28. Anyone passing by the following morning would have been surprised to see signs in the windows reading, “Goodbye Queen West.”
“We wanted to close quietly,” says Jack Lamon, one of the co-op’s worker-owners. “I guess we didn’t want to spend the last month doing a lot of emotional processing on the [sales] floor.”
Queer businesses are struggling now more than ever. This summer alone has seen the closure of the bar Zipperz-known for its drag king nights and thriving lesbian club scene-and the martini bar and restaurant Byzantium. Glad Day Bookshop, the world’s oldest surviving LGBTQ bookshop, is moving to a new location in the hope that expansion will save the struggling business.
From the outside, Come As You Are appeared like any other storefront on Queen West. But get a little closer, and the shop slowly revealed itself to passersby: vibrators sat in the front window, and lime green interior walls reflected the bright and adventurous toys sold inside. The shop was unabashedly sexy-and for years, it had been considered one of the most sex-positive and LGBTQ-friendly sex stores in the city.
But, that has come to an end. Come As You Are is now closed, reverting to an online-only store-and another one of Toronto’s queerer businesses has been forced to shut its doors.
The store gave no warning that its final day of business would be Sunday, August 28. Anyone passing by the following morning would have been surprised to see signs in the windows reading, “Goodbye Queen West.”
“We wanted to close quietly,” says Jack Lamon, one of the co-op’s worker-owners. “I guess we didn’t want to spend the last month doing a lot of emotional processing on the [sales] floor.”
Queer businesses are struggling now more than ever. This summer alone has seen the closure of the bar Zipperz-known for its drag king nights and thriving lesbian club scene-and the martini bar and restaurant Byzantium. Glad Day Bookshop, the world’s oldest surviving LGBTQ bookshop, is moving to a new location in the hope that expansion will save the struggling business.