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Kensington Market

AlbertC said:
A memory of Toronto’s Kensington Market

By Sherie Posesorski Special to the Star
Thu., Nov. 21, 2019

www.thestar.com

A memory of Toronto’s Kensington Market

Unlike the tidy and organized aisles of the Dominion supermarket, Kensington was a spellbinding mess — a giant sidewalk sale every day.
www.thestar.com www.thestar.com
Click to expand...

I remember, only vaguely, my first 'field trip' in elementary school to Kensington Market.

This would have been the very early 80s I suppose.

The market was not as it is today.

I remember the odd mix of the good food smells of freshly baked goods that you might still expect today; but with the smell of rotting fish and slaughtered meat.

There was at least one vendor, I think 2 or 3 that had live chickens in cages that were killed to order.

Walking by those places or those whose seafood displays weren't refrigerated or enclosed, was enough to induce nausea.

At least one or 2 classmates succumbed to their nausea, while the rest of us plugged our noses til we were led away from the worst smells.

I say all that, and you need to know as a foodie today I very much appreciate the local nature of the food and the independence of vendors, and the old-world market chaos.

But as a child I had very mixed feelings. I remember liking the good bits (fresh bakeries) enough to ask my mother to bring me to the market on the weekend; but I also remember studiously warning her as a child how awful it could smell (I'm sure she knew and my warning must have been hilarious....)

This memory made me google.........

It appears from this article than the live chickens disappeared from the market in June of 1983.

 
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Northern Light said:
I remember, only vaguely, my first 'field trip' in elementary school to Kensington Market.

This would have been the very early 80s I suppose.

The market was not as it is today.

I remember the odd mix of the good food smells of freshly baked goods that you might still expect today; but with the smell of rotting fish and slaughtered meat.

There was at least one vendor, I think 2 or 3 that had live chickens in cages that were killed to order.

Walking by those places or those whose seafood displays weren't refrigerated or enclosed, was enough to induce nausea.

At least one or 2 classmates succored to their nausea, while the rest of us plugged our noses til we were led away from the worst smells.

I say all that, and you need to know as a foodie today I very much appreciate the local nature of the food and the independence of vendors, and the old-world market chaos.

But as a child I had very mixed feelings. I remember liking the good bits (fresh bakeries) enough to ask my mother to bring me to the market on the weekend; but I also remember studiously warning her as a child how awful it could smell (I'm sure she knew and my warning must have been hilarious....)

This memory made me google.........

It appears from this article than the live chickens disappeared from the market in June of 1983.

Click to expand...

As a child of the 90's, I missed out on the old-world chaotic era of the Kensington Market. But I did have some fond memories from both going there with my parents and later on for various school trips.

My mother always went to the St. Andrew Poultry closer to Spadina, albeit for non-live chickens. There also used to be this tofu shop at St. Andrew & Kensington that my family knew the owner and people who worked there.

Kensington was also a place where we often had our high school art/photography trips during the mid to late 2000's. That European Quality Meats place had some good burgers. This was before the arrival of all the trendy spots and better restaurants of course.

I find that around 2010 or so was a major transition point for the area. There's still the mom and pops fruits and veggies shops, Asian and Latin places, second hand/vintage clothing, and general miscellaneous shops around. But the bars and restaurants scene definitely exploded to where it is today.
 
AlbertC said:
As a child of the 90's, I missed out on the old-world chaotic era of the Kensington Market. But I did have some fond memories from both going there with my parents and later on for various school trips.

My mother always went to the St. Andrew Poultry closer to Spadina, albeit for non-live chickens. There also used to be this tofu shop at St. Andrew & Kensington that my family knew the owner and people who worked there.

Kensington was also a place where we often had our high school art/photography trips during the mid to late 2000's. That European Quality Meats place had some good burgers. This was before the arrival of all the trendy spots and better restaurants of course.

I find that around 2010 or so was a major transition point for the area. There's still the mom and pops fruits and veggies shops, Asian and Latin places, second hand/vintage clothing, and general miscellaneous shops around. But the bars and restaurants scene definitely exploded to where it is today.
Click to expand...

My experience as well, though I make no claim to know the real "old Kensington." I don't think I went there until 2005. However, by 2008 the proliferation of clubs spilling over from Little Italy and the new live music venues (the Boat) and such, it seemed to be a tipping point to becoming another place on a then already long list of "cool neighbourhoods." I recall walking through in the mid-2000's and seeing a guy in a bloody apron carying a whole pig across the street out of a white unmarked van--dead and bled out, but not yet butchered--and the tourists being aghast at the site. After around that year it rapidly appeared to change into a more generic neighbourhood; the attraction becoming faux-grittiness and being on the ''bleeding-edge" of generic global pop-culture trends you are supposed to advertise you have consumed on Instagram.
 
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Jonny5 said:
My experience as well, though I make no claim to know the real "old Kensington." I don't think I went there until 2005. However, by 2008 the proliferation of clubs spilling over from Little Italy and the new live music venues (the Boat) and such, it seemed to be a tipping point to becoming another place on a then already long list of "cool neighbourhoods." I recall walking through in the mid-2000's and seeing a guy in a bloody apron carying a whole pig across the street out of a white unmarked van--dead and bled out, but not yet butchered--and the tourists being aghast at the site. After around that year it rapidly appeared to change into a more generic neighbourhood; the attraction becoming faux-grittiness and being on the ''bleeding-edge" of generic global pop-culture trends you are supposed to advertise you have consumed on Instagram.
Click to expand...

At this point, even one of the more divey speakeasy type places like Cold Tea has remodelled itself to become a more mainstream yuppie lounge.
 
Oxford Fruit at the corner of Nassau & Augusta is closing at the end of March 2020 due to skyrocketing rents. They've been operating there since 1996.

www.blogto.com

Popular fruit market in Toronto is closing because of rent hike

One of Kensington Market's beloved produce markets will shutter for good in several weeks' time. Oxford Fruit, the longtime fruits and veggie stor...
www.blogto.com www.blogto.com
 
Kensington Market's beloved Oxford Fruit closing after 25 years

The grocer is the latest in a growing series of family-owned food businesses taken down by rising rents in Kensington

By Sadaf Ahsan
February 12, 2020

Kensington Market is about to lose yet another one of its beloved cornerstones: Oxford Fruit. The Augusta Ave. market has been owned and operated by K.T. Ng and her family for 25 years.

Still, she was surprised by the outpouring of love and support from regulars dropping by to say kind words this morning, and those lamenting the state of a wilting Kensington on social media after filmmaker and actress Sook-Yin Lee tweeted the news Tuesday evening.

nowtoronto.com

Kensington Market's beloved Oxford Fruit closing after 25 years - NOW Magazine

The grocer is the latest in a growing series of family-owned food businesses taken down by rising rents in Kensington
nowtoronto.com nowtoronto.com
 
AlbertC said:
A fire has ripped through the basement of Pamenar Cafe, one of my favourite places in Kensington Market. :(

www.blogto.com

Fire rips through the basement of beloved Toronto cafe

One of Kensington Market's most popular cafes has incurred thousands of dollars in damages after an electrical fire last week. Like all other cafe...
www.blogto.com www.blogto.com
Click to expand...

I love that place too - super cozy backyard patio, great craft beer selection. Luckily the main floor only suffered minimal damage.
 
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