Self-guided walking tour boosting local businesses in Cabbagetown

One group in Cabbagetown is making the most of summer foot traffic by launching a unique walking tour to support local businesses.

At the height of COVID-19, Cabbagetown’s main street businesses took a hit. A March 2023 loan repayment survey conducted by the City of Toronto Business Improvement Areas, reported that three out of four small businesses here made below 75 per cent of their pre-COVID sales.

In response, the Cabbagetown BIA came up with the idea for Main Street Mosaic Tours, a free, self-guided walking tour that takes users through the neighbourhood and spotlights local businesses.

“I really think that we’re at a time where the survival of our small businesses in Cabbagetown, across the city of Toronto, is really in danger of being lost to a lot of big box retailers or a lot of franchises,” says Cabbagetown BIA executive director Matthew Mohan. “Then where is our city going to be when those cultural hubs are gone? And so, the more that we can do to teach people about the history of these neighbourhoods and the architectural significance of these neighbourhoods, [the better].” 

“These neighbourhoods have been here for hundreds of years.”

Users can take the tour at their convenience by hopping on the Driftscape app.

From Carlton and Sherbourne Streets, down to Parliament Street, learn Cabbagetown’s in-depth history, get special offers at local stores and watch video interviews of business owners such as Tania Waldock, co-owner of House on Parliament.

The gastropub’s sales fell significantly during the pandemic, and only got back to 2019 levels last year.

“I would say this summer, we have had a noticeable uptick in tourist visits or for visitors from outside the area; I would love to attribute that to the tours,” she explains. “There’s more to do now and having [House on Parliament] accessible on an app as opposed to somewhere where you have to go and pick up a map or sign up for an event — this has been a much more accessible tour. It’s easy. People can just come on their own.”

The tour became available on June 15, attracting around 1,000 participants. It was slated to end on Aug. 15, but in light of this big turnout, the BIA is continuing its tour until the end of 2024.

“As residents of Cabbagetown, you come and you go to the store — in and out and everything  — and you just get your things, and that’s it,” explains Gilles Huot, a local resident who took the tour. 

“[The tour] gives texture…where it’s no longer just the place where you shop, but it’s your village, it’s your place, it’s your neighbourhood.”

Mohan believes the app format makes it easy to replicate the Cabbagetown BIA’s walking tour in neighbourhoods across Toronto, and help shore up their hyperlocal economies. 

“Lots of BIAs or neighbourhoods can take something like a self-directed walking tour app like Driftscape or something else, and put together a really fun tour — like a food tour like a cultural tour — and be able to drive people to the neighbourhood,” he says.