Woodbridge cafe partially collapses after explosion; man arrested

An explosion caused a Woodbridge cafe – one that was raided for illegal gaming last year – to partially collapse, sending bricks onto the street and burying a car.

A 33-year-old man is in custody.

The City of Vaughan has since told CityNews that the cafe does not have a valid municipal business licence.

York regional police were called to Caffe Corretto on Winges Road near Highway 7 and Weston Road just before 5:30 a.m. on Thursday.

When police arrived at the scene, they found the cafe in a partial state of collapse. They also confirmed that an explosion occurred. Police called Vaughan fire to the area and firefighters put out an oven fire inside the cafe.

Police also found an injured man nearby. He was arrested and then taken to hospital. His injuries are not life-threatening.

One of the cafe’s walls was blown out and fell onto a car. No one was in the car at the time.

The Ontario Fire Marshal has been called in and police are investigating.

“We do believe the fire [explosion] is suspicious,” Const. Andy Pattenden said.

At the scene, deputy fire chief Deryn Rizzi said the roof is unstable, so firefighters cannot do a full search of the building.

Vaughan Fire District Chief Grant Moffat said there are at least 10 businesses in the building. For the time being, no one is being allowed into the building.

Police are asking who was in the area at the time, or who may have surveillance and dashcam video at the time of the incident, to contact them.