According to a posted sign written to the neighbours, Hawker Bar will be a full-service restaurant serving lunch and dinner. The menu will be an “exciting mix of Malaysian, Chinese and Indian flavours… inspired by the local street food… of… Singapore”.  Opening date TBD.

We are not the only media to cover Telegramme Prints. There has been a lot of enthusiasm for the opening, and we think they add to the perfect blend of retail, dining, service and arts on the strip.  And now, Ian from Telegramme Prints and Custom Framing answers our 8 questions:

What’s your business?

  Our business is really two businesses: sourcing hard to get limited edition prints and posters that you can’t get anyplace else, from Parkdale and Kensington Market to Mexico and Japan. The second business we’re in is custom framing services for artwork we sell, and for artwork that clients bring in for framing. We have all kinds of custom framing services: plak mounting, canvas stretching, any kind of unusual job, but our focus is custom framing of prints and posters.

 How is your business unique?

 There are lots of poster shops and framing shops, but few places like ours in North America. We really work hard at positioning ourselves as an alternative to a bland mall experience. That doesn’t mean our posters and prints are expensive: 80% of our inventory is $25 or less. We have an awesome conservation custom framing package for $99 that is popular. And our prints and posters are the some of the best you can get, we’re always amazed and dazzled by the skills and talents of the designers and printers in the shop.

  How long have you been in business here?

  We’ve been in business since Sept 11, 2010 at 194 Ossington. We’ve also operated a shop since 2006 at 1103 Queen Street East in Leslieville.

  What drew you to be here on Ossington? 

 Much of our requirements involved the space having a specific criteria: parking, space, rear door access etc. We’d had our eye on this spot for 2 years, when it was another custom framing shop. When we saw the For Lease sign this summer, we moved really fast to get a deposit on it. It has everything we need and a lot more. We looked at a few other neighbourhoods, but this is the best.

  What changes have you seen on Ossington since your business has been here?

 Not very many, because we’re so new. But I remember about 3-4 years ago, I was having drinks with friends around here. It was dark and cold, kind of menacing. This summer, the streets were full of smart people at night, lots of laughter and a total absence of any grim foreboding like before.

  How do you see your business and Ossington five years from now?

 I expect it the retail end things to develop more, it will complement the nightlife. Having small independent shops, restaurants and bars run by passionate people is what gives a neighbourhood like this its soul and quality of life, and I hope that continues. I really feel terrible for some of the small businesses on the street that have been stifled by the moratorium on bars. I can’t imagine putting so much time, energy and borrowed money into an enterprise, only to have the city pull the rug out, long after the point of no return. I hope five years from now, city dickering is not the story like it is now.

 What is your favorite spot on Ossington, other than your own? and why?

 Having the Home Hardware so close and with such a nice staff, I think of them as one of my favorite spots because they always save our bacon. There’s a lot else I haven’t seen yet, but I always like going into I Deal Coffee. Sometimes we have meetings at Pizza Libretto, it always feels special. I like BQM and Crafted too; like our shop, they set up their initial location in the east end and opened up another space on Ossington. I have a long list of places that I want to spend time in: Foxley and Crooked Star are at the top of that list… so is Xpace Gallery, one of our employees Tobias Williams, a printmaker, designed a window there recently.

 Even though our doors have only been open five weeks here, all of us at the shop have commented how fantastic the neighbourhood businesses and residents have been. We totally love it here.

Update: Walking by today we noticed a sign that says it will open this upcoming Tuesday. There are also hours posted in the window. It’s for early risers with weekday openings at 7am. They will also be serving Ideal Coffee, according to a sticker in the window.

It looks like the empty space which once housed Le Bar au Soupe will not be empty much longer. In fact, there is a big “Opening Soon” sign for the new cafe, called Crepes and More. It looks redesigned inside, with a coffee bar and tables and chairs and could be a unique addition to our neighborhood that would fill a void for convenient, “fast” food.

What’s your business?

Cantadora Naturopathic Healthcare Centre

How is your business unique?

We are a community-based wellness centre with a collective of therapists offering services such as naturopathic medicine, registered massage, acupuncture, shiatsu, craniosacral therapy and osteopathy.  We have a small natural products shop, a book-lending library, and offer some educational
programs and cooking classes.

How long have you been in business here?

Since April 2008

What drew you to be here on Ossington?

I lived in the area for years – it’s where I walked everyday, got my coffee, pho, saw live music, and so on.  This area is a beautiful melting pot, with a variety of ethnicities; people of all income levels (all the way from absolutely nothing to too much); musicians, artists & creative people…all kinds of perspectives and states of mind converge here.  All are welcome.

What changes have you seen on Ossington since your business has been here?

There is a lot more foot traffic than there used to be, especially during the daytime, which is great.

How do you see your business and Ossington five years from now?

My hope is for it to be more like Kensington or Roncesvalles (or that it become it’s own special and unique community with a broad range of businesses and residents) and less like Yorkville or King West.

What is your favorite spot on Ossington, other than your own? and why?

Frantic City, formerly Babel Books, is great for unique and cheap finds in the books and music department.  I think Dakota Tavern is brilliant for live music and it’s family-style Bluegrass Brunch is a good time.  Yet I Deal Coffee takes the prize, because it’s delicious.

I heard one of the staff members talking about how it would make it ‘less social’, as if a coffee shop shouldn’t have wireless internet access, because it would make it less of a coffee shop. I work from home quite a bit, and from what I can see in the neighbourhood there are many others that do also and there are times when being around other people helps me come up with ideas, or just feel more social.

There’s a place up the street I sometimes go, Semolina Bakery, when I feel like a coffee which has internet access, but it doesn’t have the same neighbourhood feel as Ideal.

I’d encourage the owners to get an internet connection and put some wireless in. I’m sure many of your customers would apprciate it. Maybe have a ‘wireless tip jar’ to help pay for it. I’d contribute.

Let me know if you need help installing. Happy to come over and assist.