Brides devastated after bridal store owner evicted

Several brides have been left devastated and without their wedding dresses after a bridal store owner was evicted near Dufferin Street and St Clair Avenue West.

Kristina Manorath said she ordered a dress from Jolie Bridal back in January and was assured Thursday, by the owner, her dress would be ready to be picked up on Monday.

When she attempted to contact the store on Monday, she received no answer and it appeared the owner had changed her phone number.

“There’s no indication of us getting [their deposit] back or getting the dress or anything like. It’s just up in the air.”

Her parents went by the location on St. Clair West and found notices of eviction on the door.

Manorath is set to get married on Aug. 3 and had already put $1,500 down for the dress. Her main concern now is whether the dress was ever actually ordered in the first place as she has yet to see the dress.

“There’s no indication of us getting [their deposit] back or getting the dress or anything like. It’s just up in the air.”

She said she knows of at least five other brides who had order dresses from Jolie Bridal and are now impacted by the eviction. One bride was actually waiting outside when Manorath’s parents went to the store who said she believed her dress was still inside.

“They are just gone, disappeared, have not reached out to any of their clients and changed their phone number,” said Manorath. “There are so many girls affected by this right now, who are in the same predicament as me.”

The notice, dated July 13, detailed the owner had failed to pay rent for the previous five months, totaling over $32,000.

Dresses still appear to be on the racks inside the store and on mannequins in the front.

The company who posted the notice, St. Feideli’s Properties Limited, stated the locks on the doors had been changed.

The notice also read, “The Landlord shall be entitled to exercise all of its rights under the Lease and at law, including but not limited to the right to have the good and chattels appraised and sold.”

Another bride, Jen, who found out about the closure via Facebook last night came to the store Tuesday to see the notice for herself. She said she paid her $1,200 dress in full because she was given a 50 per cent discount back in June.

Jen said she is one of the lucky ones since her wedding isn’t till October. She also added her credit card company has refunded the charge while an investigation is conducted.

CityNews found the address of Jolie Bridal’s owner Teresa Cariati, from whom many of the brides had bought dresses directly. When attending the address listed for her, a man claiming to be the owner of Jolie Bridal answered the door.

He refused to give his name, but told our reporter he had attempted to deliver some of the dresses that had come into the store.

“I tried to deliver the dresses and the landlord locked me out,” he said. “Some of the dresses have been ordered, some have been shipped.”

“I wasn’t anticipating closing the store. I was trying to go the whole year to see if I could deliver anything, but unfortunately the landlord locked me out.”

When asked whether their customers would be getting their money back or their dresses, he said “you will have to ask my lawyer.” He also suggested the clients waiting for dresses should be contacting the supplier.

“I wasn’t anticipating closing the store. I was trying to go the whole year to see if I could deliver anything, but unfortunately the landlord locked me out.”

He also said that despite knowing he was behind on his rent, he said he was not given notice the store would be closed. He would not reveal whether he stopped taking orders from brides prior to the store’s closure.

Another notice had also been posted on the door with a phone number for the bailiff, Peter Balston, who acted on behalf of the landlord.

Balston said he has spoken to many brides over the last couple of days and says the owners have until Friday to pay their rent.

He told CityNews he will be there on Saturday at 10 a.m. and any bride whose dress is in the store and has a receipt is welcome to take it.