Victory Cafe at 440 Bloor St. W. is open for take-out and is offering gourmet pizza, prepared in a wood fire oven, at roughly 40% off the usual price ($10.95). Owner Nick Ndreka declared: “this is an emergency and people need a break!”

Some restaurants and bars, due to the nature of their business model, opted not to do take-out and delivery. One of those is Kilgour’s Bar Meets Grill. Co-owner Peter Kilgour, a direct competitor to Victory Cafe across the street, donated perishables from their fridge to Ndreka’s to help the cause. “We are all brothers [and sisters] at the end of the day,” Kilgour said as he delivered a sack of potatoes across the way. “We have to help each other,” he said.  

Businesses not deemed essential are, of course, closed to retail but many are keeping an online presence for e-commerce.

—Brian Burchell, Gleaner News

READ MORE LOCAL COVID-19 COVERAGE:

• ON THE COVER: Everything will be alright (Apr. 2020)
• NEWS: Keep Your Rent campaign emerges (Apr. 2020)
• NEWS: ARA helps thy neighbour (Apr. 2020)
• FOCUS: Andrà tutto bene – Everything will be alright (Apr. 2020)
• FOCUS: Local resources for a global pandemic (Apr. 2020)
• CHATTER: “A burger and a pound of butter please…” (Apr. 2020)
• CHATTER: Victory’s Nick is the anti-gouger (Apr. 2020)
• CHATTER: Pop-up coffee shop opens on Bloor! (Apr. 2020)
• FOCUS: Former lingerie maven makes masks for neighbours (Apr. 2020)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: How Nice (Apr. 2020)
• EDITORIAL: Local heroes (Apr. 2020)
• FORUM: We will get through this together (Apr. 2020)
• FORUM: Pandemic brings out the best in humanity (Apr. 2020)
• ARTS: Culture Corridor thrives online (Apr. 2020)
• LIFE: Two wheels keep on turning (April 15, 2020)
• ON THE COVER: Order in (Mar. 2020)
• NEWS: Local resources for a global pandemic (Mar. 2020)
• EDITORIAL CARTOON: How Nice (Mar. 2020)
• EDITORIAL: Modelling healthy behaviour (Mar. 2020)
• FORUM: We need to do our part (Mar. 2020)
• EDITORIAL: Modelling healthy behaviour (Mar. 2020)
• GREENINGS: Reflecting on who actually matters (Mar. 2020)