‘We’re close to giving up,’ Toronto restaurant facing possible closure after more than 10 years in business – NOW Toronto

A Toronto restaurant is on the brink of closure after standing for more than a decade.

Haitian restaurant Rhum Corner has thrived on Dundas Street West for more than 11 years, serving up flavourful Caribbean-Creole cuisine like street-style griot, banane frites, macaroni au gratin, and of course – endless rum. 

But the business has taken a downward spiral recently, according to owner Jen Agg, who took to Instagram on Wednesday morning to pen a transparent letter to Rhum Corner’s patrons.

In the post, Agg says that the landlord is raising the rent, and explains that the restaurant is not as bustling during the week as it is during weekends. 

“… You need to be busy every day that you’re open, or at least 80% of the time. And that is just not happening for us during the week,” Agg wrote. 

She describes the state of the restaurant as at an “impasse,” and pleads with patrons to support other aging local businesses who may be experiencing similar financial circumstances for fear of premature closure.  

“I suspect it’s not just Rhum Corner… it’s all sorts of supposedly beloved older restaurants,” she said. 

“None of this is an indictment on the people who love this restaurant – we know how much you love it and we understand that places have their moments in the sun but if we don’t support our older restaurants that we think we love, they are going to disappear.”

Agg, who runs the restaurant alongside her husband Roland Jean, worries about how he might deal with the closure. Jean was once an artist who created murals within the restaurant, and the restaurant had also become his home away from home, where he could connect with the best memories of his Haitian culture from the food to the kompa music. In the post, she discloses that Jean had previously experienced a stroke which caused him to lose his ability to paint, and she is saddened at the thought of him losing the restaurant too.   

For now, Rhum Corner remains open Tuesdays through Saturday, but the future of the restaurant is indefinite. Agg says currently, she is unsure how they’ll make it through another winter. 

“We have tried a lot of ways and are very close to giving up, despite really not wanting to.” 

Past customers of Rhum Corner are expressing their disappointment at the recent news of the restaurant’s struggles, many unprepared to see the spot gone for good. Community members are extending their support for the restaurant in Agg’s comment section, while also calling out the city to provide better protection for small businesses.  

“I am absolutely devastated,” one Instagram user commented. 

“When I want to introduce friends to my Haitian culture, I bring them to Rhum… I don’t know what I will do without Rhum. As you said, the Haitian diaspora in Toronto needs this space.”

“This is a reality a lot of restaurants and small food businesses have been facing,” another user wrote under the post. “Very vulnerable and brave of you to speak about it.” 

“Toronto needs to do something about a commercial landlord’s ability to raise rent however much they want. It’s a death [sentence] for a lot of businesses but especially restaurants,” another user said.