# Toronto re-embraces small-scale retail

By [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com) · 2025-11-15

toronto, retail, small-scale-retail, local-retail, fine-grain, urbanism, planning

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[Good news](https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/new-neighbourhood-stores-toronto-9.6978014): If you would like to open a small-scale retail business in Toronto — and you have a property that is residentially zoned on a major street (in one of the [approved areas](https://www.toronto.ca/legdocs/mmis/2025/cc/bgrd/backgroundfile-259945.pdf)), or you have a corner property on a designated “community street,” or you have a property that abuts a non-residential use such as a park or public school — you _may_ now be allowed to do it, with some restrictions. (Consult your local planner for exact details.)

![](https://storage.googleapis.com/papyrus_images/ca5a2b79d1b4f3e0333ee7b5ec3b93777ddb26ef88636dfa50bf2c0c34f7576e.png)

This, as we [talked about recently](https://brandondonnelly.com/the-slow-march-back-to-small-scale-neighbourhood-retail), is meaningful progress for Toronto. But as is always the case, it was not easy. Toward the end, local community groups even started using [AI slop](https://www.blogto.com/real-estate-toronto/2025/11/group-ai-toronto-scared-convenience-stores/) in an attempt to terrify the public into thinking that this would be a harbinger of littering hoodlums loitering in all of our neighborhoods.

Thankfully, this city has people like [Dan Seljak](https://x.com/anotherglassbox), [Blair Scorgie](https://x.com/BlairScorgie), and many others — including, of course, the EHON team at the City — who have been instrumental in getting _something_ passed, even if it had to change a little along the way. City building ain’t easy. They should all be proud of what they've accomplished. I look forward to seeing what kind of local entrepreneurship this unlocks. Go Toronto.

_Cover photo by_ [_Joe Yu_](https://unsplash.com/@joyjoke2001?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText) _on_ [_Unsplash_](https://unsplash.com/photos/wooden-storefront-with-glass-doors-and-signage-c2YlaPGvCEk?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText)

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*Originally published on [Brandon Donnelly](https://brandondonnelly.com/toronto-re-embraces-small-scale-retail)*