Toronto brothers re-open store after 20 years to carry on family legacy

A Toronto store that’s been permanently closed for more than 20 years has re-opened as a pair of brothers continue their family’s legacy.

You’ve likely seen it before, but may not have ever entered, and there’s a good reason for that; Corso Italia’s B. Textile has been closed for more than two decades.

Now, brothers David and Adam Bobrowski (which ‘B’ in Bobrowski stands for) are giving it a second life, having officially reopened the doors of the store this past August.

A haven for creatives of all kinds, the store is like something out of a fantasy novel; walk under the shop’s no-nonsense green sign to discover walls packed floor to ceiling with rare and unique vintage fabrics, trim and buttons, all hand-collected over the course of decades by David and Adam’s grandfather.

B. Textile is packed with a diverse array of vintage fabrics from around the world.

The shop was founded in 1961 by David and Adam’s grandparents, Polish immigrants who came to Canada in an effort to flee the Holocaust, always residing in the exact same space at 1306 St. Clair West.

“It was run by my grandmother until she was in her early 90s,” Adam tells blogTO, before it was closed for over a decade when their grandmother fractured her hip and was unable to continue running the store.

The business was later passed down to Adam and David’s father, a doctor, who struggled to upkeep both his busy Addiction Medicine practice and the textile shop, B. Textile fell by the wayside once more.

When David and Adam’s father suddenly passed away this summer, the shop fell to them, and they immediately knew what they were going to do with it.

“It has been our aspiration for a long time to re-open the store to creatives in the city as well as to commemorate our grandparent’s legacy as this was their life’s work,” Adam tells blogTO, so, in August, B. Textile made its big return.

It’s not just the store itself that’s a little slice of history — the things you’ll find on the shelves there, too, tell the story of the Bobrowski family.

“Our grandfather passed away before we were born,” Adam tells blogTO. “He selected most of the fabric within the store and our grandmother ran the store.”

“All of the fabrics are vintage [from] 1960 – 80 and sourced from around the world, including mills in Europe, New York and Japan,” he says.

Adam, a urology resident and David, an internal medicine resident, both studying at UofT, certainly have their work cut out for them when it comes to running the business while pursuing careers in the medical field, but, according to Adam, it’s more than worth it.

“Being able to be involved in the business gives me a greater appreciation for their taste and style, but also a view into their world as they tried to pave a new life in Canada,” Adam tells blogTO.

“It has been deeply meaningful to hear locals tell us stories about our grandparents.”

At the time of publication, B. Textile is open Wednesday, Friday and Saturday 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays.