What to know
- Ossington grocer and coffee shop Finch Store received their updated business license from Mayor Olivia Chow over the weekend.
- The store’s owner Yana Miriev has been embroiled in a three-year battle with Toronto’s bylaw enforcement over a coffee machine after someone filed an anonymous complaint against her.
- Through the help of her community and a Change.org petition, Finch Store is allowed to serve coffee again.
After nearly three years of fighting bureaucracy, Finch Store is finally allowed to serve coffee again.
On Saturday, Toronto mayor Olivia Chow and Davenport councillor Alejandra Bravo hand-delivered Finch Store’s new business license to owner Yana Miriev during a party she held to celebrate the store’s neighborhood.
But her success did not come easy. In 2023, an anonymous complaint filed against Miriev instigated a months-long battle with the city’s bylaw enforcement — a battle that didn’t need to happen, as her license included a permit for refreshments.
“Our licence included the grocery store licence with permit for refreshments, which means you can serve coffee. It was already incorporated into our licence in 2022, when we just purchased the store,” Miriev explains in an interview with Now Toronto.
Even though she had a written confirmation from the municipality that she could install an espresso machine, someone anonymously complained to the city, which led to a bylaw officer accusing her of violating the zoning bylaw.
“I felt disappointed because we were trying to do our best. We were in a great relationship with the neighbourhood and there were no obvious complaints about us operating the business,” Miriev says. “And the problem was that the complaint was anonymous. You never know who was behind the complaint and why it was done. This is the most frustrating part.”
The city asked Miriev to voluntarily downgrade the business license for Finch Store, but she declined. She put together a paper petition inside her store, but then Toronto artist Dan Seljak happened to come across it. He elevated Miriev’s fight to the internet with a Change.org petition.
“[Seljak] was randomly just passing the store and saw our banner to help protect and save the small family business. He came in and offered to advertise our cause on his big platform,” Miriev says.
“It’s not very easy to have a business, especially when you come to the situation where you have to fight for the right to exist.”
With the support from Seljak, the community, local news publications, and unsurprisingly, the good samaritans on Reddit, Miriev got her victory. Two weeks ago, she received an email from Chow asking to come by Finch Store and hand deliver her updated business license — which now includes seating.
“I just want to thank everybody in the community and people that participated in the discussions on any platform. I just want to thank everybody who cared.”
