Since 2001 Roach-O-Rama made its home in the building at 191a Baldwin St, Kensington Market. In 2003, they were given the whole building to lease out and opened Toronto's first Pot friendly cafe & vapor lounge Hot Box Cafe. The two businesses operated in harmony, serving potheads from far and near, under the same roof until 2010. At that point both the store and cafe became too busy and the decision had to be made to expand both locations.
When Abi Roach, tried to relocate Hot Box to the new location, it came to light that a new zoning by-law in the city of Toronto has come into effect and no more backyard patios are to be licensed anywhere in Toronto. The changes in the zoning by-laws received little to no media coverage. So it was decided that Hot Box will stay and Roach-O-Rama will move. Leaving the space open to the option that if Hot Box ever needed to relocate, at least it had a home.
The building at 191a Baldwin had been for sale 11 years before the hammer finally came down. Kensington is apparently now an "up & coming" neighborhood. Even though it has been in existence as a small, grass roots commercial neighborhood for over 100 years. Now it seems when the commercial leases run out the building is either sold to another fancy King st coffee shop, or the rent is raised so high that the tenant can no longer afford to stay in business. Not to mention the increased police presence to "clean up" the market, and the many condominium projects being proposed all around kensington Market.
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| Kensington Market in the beginning |
At the end of the Hot Box's lease, June 1st 2012. They were told by the landlord that the people interested want to buy the building as an investment property, with the intent of keeping the tenants (hot box) operating. And if the building hadn't sold by the end of July they would get their lease back.
Time went by with no news. The last day of July 2012 a sold sign went up. Again Abi Roach was told the same story of the investment property and not to worry. 2 days later BLOGTO let the Hot Box know of the upcoming coffee shop development. At that point the landlords had gone on vacation and were nowhere to be found.
When both the Kensington and cannabis community found out about this backhanded development they were up in arms. The backlash was all over social media, regular media and on the street. The new owners couldn't handle the backlash and let Hot Box know they had less then 2 months to vacate the property and they will have the police there to make sure this would happen. As if the Hot Box people are so horrible and will squat the place.
In late August, Abi Roach finally got word from the property owner that the new owners have not yet bought or even signed for the building, hence the eviction is null and void. So after 11 years and over $500,000 worth of rent and taxes paid, the folks at Hot Box couldnt even get a straight answer. So now they sit in lease limbo.
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| Good vybz already happenin' on new potio |
The Hot Box has decided to go back to the original grass roots it came from and will move out of the property, to the 204 Augusta location, regardless of the sale. Bringing the original head shop and pot lounge back together under one roof and Potio. And the new potio is awesome! ivy and trees in a very private setting in the heart of Kensington Market.
Sure some small changes will have had to be made, but the Hot Box isnt about location or food. The Hot Box has always been about a vibe and a community, and that will never go away.
After all they have been serving potheads since, AH … I forget :)
To keep up to date with all the move details follow @hotboxcafe on twitter
OCTOBER 1st 2012
RE-OPENING AT ROACH-O-RAMA 204 AUGUSTA AVE
