MADELEINES NO CHERRY PIE & ICE CREAM

There was a cute little ice-cream and coffee place on Bathurst Street, just south of Dupont Street, here in Toronto. I had been in there several times to grab coffee.

Just this morning I learned that Madeleine's Cherry Pie and Ice Cream closed its doors back in July. This was sad news to me in that I always find it sad when a small business goes under.

However, I'm not really surprised that this store closed: The food was way overpriced and came in tiny portions (although the coffee was reasonably priced and came in good portions); the owner was unpleasant much of the time (not a good way to be when you are trying to welcome the public and build a customer base); and, plain and simple, the location was a bad one. That part of Bathurst is a sort of 'dead zone' for small businesses... many have come and gone over the years, unable to keep the traffic coming through the doors. I know people who've lived near that intersection (Bathurst and Dupont) and they've told me that they "never go that way", that they always gravitate towards Bloor Street (an eight-to-ten minute walk).

Speaking of Bloor Street, specifically the section between Bathurst and Spadina, that's exactly where Madeleine's should have been located. Rent's are a lot higher, to put it mildly, but there is a constant flow of foot-traffic -- feet looking to grab a nice ice cream or pie, even if they are way too expensive for what you get.

Whenever I was in the store, often there was hardly another soul; sitting, or as a walk-in.