TORONTO -- The east-end cafe that rose to fame by convincing Tom Hanks and Ryan Gosling to swing by for a cup of coffee is closing after five years in business
The owner of Leslieville’s Grinder Coffee became emotional as she hugged and thanked her regulars Sunday.
“Everyone’s coming to say their final goodbyes, it’s really touching,” Joelle Murray told CTV News Toronto.
Murray made the difficult decision to close the cafe several weeks ago after she could not reach an agreement with her landlord, who wanted to more than double the rent she was paying for the 800 square-foot space on Gerrard Street East near Jones Avenue.
“That’s Toronto right now,” Murray said. “The ever-increasing rents are forcing the Ma and Pas out of business, like me.”
“It was here before the strip started to take off, right,” customer Paula Anderson said, Grinder cup in hand.
The coffee shop made headlines last year when it used a social media campaign to successfully lobby actor Ryan Gosling to drop by during the Toronto International Film Festival; this past September, staff solicited the support of Tom Hanks, who also popped by for a coffee.
Ryan Gosling visited Grinder Coffee in Toronto after an internet campaign caught the actor's attention. (Grinder Coffee/Facebook)
“Every time it happened, I was like ‘no way!’” Murray said. “It’s been so much fun.”
High school students Avery Foster and Taylor Millan were wowed by the star power Grinder was able to attract. They stopped by the cafe Sunday for one last lunch there.
“We come here everyday,” Millan said. “It’s like the halfway point between our houses.”
“I appreciate all your business,” Murray told them with a hug.
Murray said she’s not sure what the future has in store for her, but she has a few irons in the fire and is considering re-opening in a different form elsewhere in the future.
“A door is closing, another one’s opening,” she said tearfully.
“We’ve become part of the community hub.”
