430 Queen West Mural

WORDS BY MEG MARSHALL PHOTO BY KIMBERLY SIMMONS

Mural: “Getting Around”

Location: 430 Queen St W Photo Credit: Richie Dos Santos Muralist: One Day Creates

Queen West is never in short supply of amazing artwork and murals (think Graffiti Alley, just a stone’s throw away). The BIA, working in partnership with the property owner, successfully applied for an outdoor mural grant through the City of Toronto. One Day Creates, an extremely talented Toronto based art and creative agency, were commissioned to paint this beautiful mural. They seamlessly worked around some of the physical elements in the space like the vintage store sign and the Bike Share station. The mural depicts the day-today comings and goings of visitors ‘getting around’ our Queen West community.

A Little Bit About Winston’s Grocery

Since 1975, The Chin family has owned the property and building at 430 Queen St W. Winston, the father of the family, opened up a wholesale grocery business, supplying many of the neighbourhood restaurants and residents with their fresh produce. Some of their customers included: The Cameron House, the folks living in the Alexander Park Co-op homes, local schools like Grange Street Daycare and the Brant Street School and many fashion district businesses. They would order and buy their goods from Winston’s until the early 2000s. At this time, the business changed formats and transitioned from a wholesale business to a stand-alone grab and go, corner store model. Many celebrities have dropped in to pick up items, including: Molly Johnson, Alta Moda, Roberta Weiss of the daytime soap Santa Barbara, Mr T and Jim Cuddy of Blue Rodeo. The original name remains and is being carried on by new business owners. The BIA is so proud and honoured to have been able to create a beautiful mural with The Chin family.