Dessert spot shuts original location and goes all-in on Toronto's new food hall
A popular Toronto cafe and dessert spot has shut down their brick and mortar location in favour of a spot in a buzzy new Toronto food hall.
Yonge and Eglinton's Postman Waffles quickly became a staple in the neighbourhood after opening in early 2023 as a late night spot to pick up something sweet.
It was that very popularity that led to more than a few raised eyebrows when, this past spring, the shop closed its doors, announcing that they'd be relocating.
"It’s not the end of the story [in] Midtown for us," co-founder Paulus Reyes, who started the shop with his wife, Alissa, tells blogTO, but it is the end of their tenure in the neighbourhood for now.
Instead, Postman Waffles has settled into a highly-coveted kiosk in the newly-opened Wellington Market Food Hall in The Well, alongside an impressive spread of other popular businesses.
"It was our initial plan to have both food kiosk and the cafe," Paulus tells blogTO, but ultimately knew that the food hall kiosk would prove the most efficient way of achieving their goal of growing the waffle business.
"We hope to have many more Postman Waffle Kiosk all over the city and across Canada," Paulus says. "We need to be laser focused on this strategy and being at The Well is the best way to start it."
The new location in the high-volume food hall is also a great way to get Paulus and Alissa's waffles in the hands (and bellies) of an entirely new, ostensibly broader, demographic.
While the switch from a brick-and-mortar to a food hall kiosk may not, at first glance, seem like a great way to grow one's business, according to Paulus, it was actually a strategic move.
"Being downtown at The Well is a great opportunity to plant our flag here at Toronto," Paulus tells blogTO.
In the days since the food hall's hotly-anticipated opening, Paulus says, the experience operating there and response from customers has been great.
"We definitely feel at home here!" he says, adding that the energy is "great."
For Paulus and Alissa, the larger goal for Postman Waffles is expansion which, yes, means a return to their beloved Midtown neighbourhood, on top of opening additional locations.
"Next for Postman Waffles is to open up more food kiosks all over the city and the GTA one neighbourhood at a time," Paulus says, adding that he and Alissa plan to continue innovating and pushing the boundaries of what a waffle can be.
While the loss of Postman Waffles can already be felt among late-night sweet tooths at Yonge and Eglinton, they're already up and operating in Wellington Market at 486 Front West.
Fareen Karim
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