LESLIEVILLE BUSINESSES
 
Ed's Real Scoop
920 Queen St E, Toronto, ON M4M 1J5
(416) 406-2525
www.edsrealscoop.com
"My favourite post-workout hangout"
 
Meating on Queen
1160 Queen St E, Toronto, ON M4M 1L4
(416) 461-7500
"Over 50 types of home-made sausages and all delicious"
 
Gio Rana's Really Really Nice Restaurant
1220 Queen St E, Toronto, ON M4M 1L7
(416) 469-5225
"The huge nose hanging over the front door will guide you to tapas and pasta... major yummy!"
 
Michele's Organics
Creams, lotions and potions
www.michelesorganics.com
"I've been a customer for over 4 years....my skin glows, my wallet is not broken and I smell divine....naturally!"
 
Value Village
924 Queen St E, Toronto, ON M4M 1J5
(416) 778-4818
www.valuevillage.com
"Shop for my daughter's riding outfits there..god knows why she didn't pick a cheap hobby but Value Village helps me afford it!"
 
Damzels In This Dress
1122 Queen St E, Toronto, ON M4M
(416) 598-0509
www.damzelsinthisdress.com
"Clever name... great shop!"
 
Leslieville Cheese Market
891 Queen St E, Toronto, ON M4M 1J4
(416) 465-7143
www.leslievillecheese.com
"Who doesn't love cheese? Mmmm... cheese!"
 
Reliable Fish and Chips
954 Queen St E, Toronto, ON M4M 1J7
(416) 465-4111
"Until I started coming here all of my fish & chips were unreliable"
 
Sweet Bliss Baking Company
1304 Queen St E, Toronto, ON M4L 1C4
(416) 916-7895
www.sweetblissbakingcompany.com
"Totally indulgent cupcakes, among other sweet things..."
 
Paint Depot
914 Queen St E, Toronto, ON M4M 1J5
(416) 469-5633
"I've been a customer for over 15 years... amazing service"
 
Sushi Marche
1105 Queen St E, Toronto, ON M4M 1K7
(416) 463-0114
www.sushimarche.com
"Like the name says, sushi and walk... the best take-out sushi joint"
 
Bar-Be-Que Hut
1455 Gerrard St E, Toronto, ON M4L 1Z9
(416) 466-0411
"I've been to India and this place is like going back. Their Tandouri is the absolute best..and okay, it's technically Little India but still! Just go!"
 
Leslieville Animal Hospital
1166 Queen St E, Toronto, ON M4M 1L4
(416) 463-8387
"Kind, caring and no weirdo hidden fees, markups or rip-offs... and my dog Ruby has no scar. No kidding"
 
Discovery Used and Collectors Records
1140 Queen Street E, Toronto, ON M4M 1L1
(416) 778-6394
www.discoveryrecords.com
"Proud to say friends once spotted my first CD on sale there... nice to know I'm still selling records. In a $2 'Canadians' Bin!"
 
Hooked
888 Queen St E, Toronto, ON M4M 1J2
(416) 828-1861
www.hookedinc.ca
"The experts on grilling, chilling and deboning anything that came from underwater"
 
Green Tea Design
388 Carlaw Ave, Toronto, ON M4M 2T4
(416) 462-1459
www.greenteadesign.com
"Antiques, Asian and all things exotic"
 
More coming soon
 
 

 
 

Riverdale/Leslieville

Known by many Torontonians as a thriving residential neighbourhood, from the strong arts community that caters to independent galleries on Queen St, to the large corporate film studios along the waterfront. Riverdale was formerly a town before it was annexed by the City of Toronto in 1884. Its tree-lined side-streets are complemented by the various styles of Victorian and Edwardian residential architecture, primarily built between the 1880s and the Great Depression. The neighbourhood has seen the rise and fall of prosperity over the past century. It's currently one the hottest real estate market in the entire country. The grand homes built on some streets are a testimony to prosperous times and are being renovated at a rapid rate. Almost amusing now to think that despite this rich housing stock, the area was considered to be down-and-out in the 1970s. Since then, the area has rebounded dramatically and is now a trendy and expensive residential district, attracting many young professionals and families.
 
The main commercial streets in the neighborhood are: Danforth Avenue which has a high concentration of Greek restaurants in addition to a variety of boutique and mainstream shops; Gerrard Street East, home to Asian shops and restaurants of East Chinatown and the Gerrard Square Mall; and Queen Street East featuring a variety of restaurants, cafes, and small shops.The entire area is framed by Broadview Avenue, running north south and many consider the east side framed Coxwell.
 
The neighbourhood features three large recreational parks; Riverdale Park, adjacent to the Don River, Withrow Park, in the north east of Riverdale, and Jimmie Simpson Park, in the southeast. Now, it also boasts a wide variety of bistros, shoppes, specialty foodie stores and cafes.

History of Leslieville

This quiet east-end neighbourhood forms part of the broader neighbourhood of South Riverdale. Leslieville began as a small village in the 1850s, which grew up around the Toronto Nurseries owned by George Leslie and sons, after whom the community is named. At that time, a lot of Leslieville's residents were gardeners or were employed at one of the brick-making factories in the area.
 
Alexander Muir, the composer of The Maple Leaf Forever, was the first principal of the Leslieville Public School, one of the first buildings in the village. Muir was apparently inspired when a brilliant maple leaf fell on his jacket from a Leslieville tree. Legend has it t that that tree is still standing today and has become a famous landmark in the community.
 
For decades, South Riverdale was home to light industry, particularly along Eastern Ave. south of Queen Street. Metal processing and tanning were notable industries which, along with other industrial activity, left Leslieville and South Riverdale with a legacy of contaminated land. In 2000, the A.R. Clarke Tannery went up in flames, burning for days and unleashing toxic ash on the surrounding neighbourhood. The city undertook cleaning a lot of these areas and now most are being rebuilt.
 
Leslieville once mainly housed those who worked in the factories, and their departure has greatly changed the area. The reduction in air pollution and fumes and the recent wave of improving existing houses in the area, have made it much more appealing to members of the middle and creative class. Today the average house sells for about $400,000 to $500,000. Leslieville is a neighbourhood in which the process of gentrification is beginning. Up until a few years ago, it was commonly referred to now as an up-and-coming neighbourhood, with new restaurants, shops and cafés slowly cropping up in the area. However, most now agree, it's arrived and thriving.
 
Some notable neighbours that have left; A house along Eastern Avenue was the main Toronto base of the Hells Angels until it was raided by police and confiscated in 2007. Now that house sits waiting for a new owner to take down the overbuilt fortress on the front and turn it back into a regular porch without the need for closed circuit surveillance with razor wire trim! A number of large public housing complexes built in the neighbourhood in the 1960s and 1970s that suffered from ills due to bad design are now being converted and redesigned, into townhomes and small village like communities. Just to the southeast of the neighbourhood is the massive Ashbridges Water Treatment Facility, Canada's largest. Concerted efforts have been made to eliminate odours for the benefit of local residents, but they still do sometimes waft over the area. Coming soon is the waterfront new build area, extending from the most Eastern part of the Distillery District all the way to Cherry Street. This has inspired building further east along the entire bottom strip of the city from that point East, and it is being bought up and built into new condos and loft spaces with new town house developments along the way too. The Athelete's Village and housing for them is still in the works. Stay tuned! It's changing fast!