Tribute to the Paint Box Bistro

By Korbin Milo
(Korbin is a journalist with the Focus Media Arts Centre)

 
The Paintbox Bistro has stood at 555 Dundas Street East since September of 2012. For 10 years, this socially conscious establishment was a prominent and positive force within the Regent Park community. Leading the charge of this employment social enterprise stood Chef Chris Klugman. Klugman worked for 15 years as a chef, professor, and consultant at George Brown Chef School in Toronto. Klugman was approached by the city to become an entrepreneur during Regent Park’s redevelopment.

Chris Klugman enacted a hiring mandate, in which Regent Park residents in need of job experience and soft skill development were given priority. The restaurant and hospitality industry is challenging and always evolving. With this in mind, Klugman fostered an effective learning environment by aligning industry professionals with each new recruit.  Under Klugman, historically under-resourced residents of Regent Park could finally access job training and skill development within their community related to the hospitality industry. The Paint Box Bistro widened its impact through collaborations with agencies like the Yonge Street Mission, Dixon Hall, and Toronto Employment Social Services.

Not stopping at employment, Chef Klugman set forth to elevate his business so that it could positively impact the environment as well. These changes included a plant-based menu, locally sourced food (including an in-house garden), and the implementation of renewable energy sources for the bistros facilities. A partnership with Regent Park Catering Collective began when Chris Klugman was given delicious leftovers by the women-led roster of chefs and trainees. The Paint Box Bistro & Catering rebranded to include catering services, and business continued to boom! In 2019, Paint Box Bistro & Catering became the first B-corporation catering company in Canada.
 
Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. B Corps are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy. -  B Lab Global
 
At the start of 2020, the future of Paintbox Bistro & Catering looked brighter than ever. Food preparation for the oncoming catering season filled the fridges and freezers well into the beginning of March. However, on March 24th 2020 business as usual became anything but. The province of Ontario was locked down in response to a deadly new threat known only as Novel Coronovirus at that time. Businesses and services were designated “essential” or “non-essential” and heavy restrictions were placed on both. The Paintbox Bistro & Catering lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in catering business overnight.  

To respond to these conditions, in April 2020, Paintbox Bistro & Catering was transformed into a food store through a partnership with a local grocery start-up called Nibbly. The former restaurant and catering space would now house shelves of products.  During lockdowns, Paintbox operated as a grocery store until larger competitors started offering same-day delivery and they lost their advantage. They also partnered with charities to produce 2,500 meals per week for people experiencing food insecurity, preparing over 35,000 meals total during lockdowns. Paintbox also became an incubator for food startups including Batch Cookies, Spike Your Food and Do Good Donuts.

The Paintbox was set to return from the winter holiday in early January 2022.  Unfortunately, all plans were thwarted by the rise of yet another variant of COVID -19.  Ontario was locked down once again due to prohibited indoor dining among other restrictions.  This time the lockdown drained the restaurant of its remaining resources and Chef Klugman announced the closure to the community.

Farewell Paintbox Bistro!!!