A Leslieville legend who has been in business in the community for 56 years says she has no plans to retire.
Theresa Tate is 84 years old and works seven days a week. The feisty businesswoman wouldn’t have it any other way.
“This keeps me in shape and keeps me not stressed and depressed,” she told CTV Toronto.
Tate owns and operates the East End Garden Centre (located on Queen Street East, just west of Greenwood) but what’s more remarkable, she does so without the use of computers. Every transaction, every customer and every sale is all recorded by hand.
That’s just the way Tate likes it.
“Oh, it was busy on Saturday and Sunday,” she said. “(The customers) nearly drove me up the wall.”
She is well-liked by regular customers who affectionately call her “Mother” but what most customers don’t know about Tate is that she came to Toronto from Sudbury decades ago -- when she was 28 years old -- with a mere $30 to her name.
At that time, Tate did not know how to read or write.
Struggling to make ends meet, Tate was one of the first women in Toronto to be licensed to scavenge items from other people’s trash cans. She still has the badge with her name on it to prove it.
She eventually started working for the city. Years later, Tate and her family decided to sell plants and produce from a family farm on picnic tables outside their Toronto home.
Without any business training, Tate opened her first business and became a Leslieville legend.
Tate now owns not only the East End Garden Centre, but two other properties next door as well. Though she is well aware of how much both her Queen Street properties are worth, Tate told CTV Toronto she has no plans to sell. Nor does she have any plans to retire.
“I’ve had at least 20 offers and I won’t sell it because I’m going to leave it to my daughters,” she said.
“No, never… I’ll never… No. I’ll retire when you’re ready to put me down for a holiday.”
With files from Scott Lightfoot.
