Toronto hardware store open for nearly 90 years says it could be forced to close by vandalism

A hardware store that has been a fixture in Toronto's Church and Wellesley neighbourhood for years says it may be forced to close its doors due to repeated acts of vandalism.

Steve Dawson, owner of Dudley's Hardware Paint & Decor, said on Thursday he is seriously considering closing the store, saying items have been stolen, staff have been intimidated and spat at, and some have been injured in physical altercations. 

The store, in operation since 1934, is supposed to celebrate its 90th birthday next year.

Dawson announced in a Facebook post on Sunday that he was closing the store for good, but an outpouring of support from the local community since has prompted him to reconsider. But he says, the neighbourhood needs to be made safer and he is still debating what to do.

"Over the last five years, my front windows have been smashed 14 times, this year alone four times. As a small independent business, I cannot keep buying glass," Dawson told CBC Toronto. "My staff does not feel safe."

Dawson said the state of the neighbourhood has brought him to this point. The store is near Barbara Hall Park and The 519 community centre. Drug use outside the centre and in the park and the behaviour that follows is the problem, he said.

"Something has got to give," he said. "It's not an issue of homelessness. It's a lack of resources for mental health and drug addiction. And harm reduction is not working," he said.

"Every time that door buzzer goes off at my front door, the hair on our necks stand up. We don't know what we're going to deal with."

'A severe lack of options' for underhoused, The 519 says

Curran Stikuts, director of advocacy and strategic communications for The 519, said he empathizes with Dawson but said the community centre doesn't have the resources to address the problems on its own.

"We're all struggling with the best way to move forward in terms of creating a healthier, more vibrant neighbourhood, where everybody feels welcome and safe and able to be who they are," he said.

"It really needs to be not just us, but a whole of community, government and neighborhood approach. Really, what we're dealing with is a severe lack of options for folks who are underhoused, for folks struggling with mental health and drug use issues."

Stikuts said governments also need to be accountable for their role in creating these crises.

"The issues that we're seeing in the Church-Wellesley neighborhood are broadly representative of what happens when we have a deep under-investment in social services, housing, addiction and mental health over the past decades," he said.

"What we're seeing now is we're reaping the rewards of that under-investment and it's playing out in really challenging ways in our communities, in our parks and in our neighbourhoods," he said.

Stikuts said The 519 is committed to working with Dudley's to ensure businesses can thrive in the neighbourhood.

Mental health, addiction need government action: MPP

Kristyn Wong-Tam, MPP for Toronto Centre, agrees. She said the store is an institution in the neighbourhood.

"This is a very complicated situation that requires every single order of government coming to the table. It's not going to be solved by a community centre, it's not going to be solved by an independent hardware store, it really requires three orders of government coming to the table to address the mental health and addictions crisis that we have in Toronto," Wong-Tam said.

Dawson said the store is loved and that there has to be a collective response. Police officers stationed on the street would help, he said.

"I can't do this on my own. We have to collectively make a difference in this neighbourhood to make it safe again."

In a statement, Coun. Chris Moise said he is setting up an urgent meeting on Friday that will include Dudley's owner, Toronto police and The 519 to talk about "actionable steps to ensure this matter is responded to swiftly and appropriately."

The Church-Wellesley Village BIA said in a statement: "Dudley's Hardware has been a staple in this area for almost a century. It is an example of how important small businesses are to our community. If Dudley's were to close, the loss would be felt deeply."