Relief Fund For Furama Workers
Donation protected
News article: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/furama-bakery-closes-1.5738347
Hello dear friends of the Furama Cake and Desserts Garden community,
Our friendly neighborhood bakery and pastry shop has decided to close its doors after more than 30 years of business. My name is Yee Chow, wife of one of the employees in Furama Cake and Desserts Garden. My husband has been working there for more than 25 years. I have asked somebody in my household to translate this message, hoping to get support regarding this tough and difficult time.
Furama Cake and Desserts Garden has been a place for bakery and pastries, the store has gone through many changes over the years. The store is located just south of Dundas Street and next to the Chinatown Centre. Furama has been a popular store where many people from outside the area come and visit. Customers from Markham, Mississauga, Etobicoke and other locations come by just to say "Hi" and pickup pastries.
Furama Cake and Desserts Garden has been servicing the community with their delicious egg tarts, hot dog buns, pineapple buns, coconut buns, wife cakes, sponge cakes, milk tea, and many other Chinese favorites. These names are unforgettable coming from someone who eats them quite often. It's also a popular hot spot for many children, students, and elderly people. My son once told me, over the years this bakery has been the middle ground for people who swing by after having dim sum, coming from internet cafe, or even walking around China Town Centre.
As much as I would like to be optimistic, I do understand the customer service landscape has changed. Online ordering systems has created a brutal competition among many private businesses that has been operating under a smaller scope where technology is not a common practice. Needless to say, COVID-19 has also put the nail in the coffin for many businesses including Furama Cake and Desserts Garden. A secondary Furama location (100 King St. W - First Canadian Place) was closed in March 2020 and now the primary location is closing its doors in September 2020.
Being a historical and traditional location in the Chinatown area, it's very sad to see Furama go. Happy customers play a critical part of the business and this is nothing unusual in Chinatown, whether you go to Rol San, King's Noodle, or any other location in the area you always see happy smiles, laughs and giggles, or crowding ambient noises.
The bakery will officially shut down on September 29, 2020, afterwards all the staff will be unemployed. My husband and his colleagues are older workers, they will face new hurdles during this Covid-19 economic crisis. It will be difficult for older age people seeking new job opportunities, especially in this sector.
We are asking the community to help us so we can use these funds to support the workers affected by this closure. All the proceeds will go to the employees at Furama Cake and Desserts Garden. Please support us on this GoFundMe page, also, don't forget to visit the store one last time, take a photo, pick up some pastries and say "Good Bye".
Hello dear friends of the Furama Cake and Desserts Garden community,
Our friendly neighborhood bakery and pastry shop has decided to close its doors after more than 30 years of business. My name is Yee Chow, wife of one of the employees in Furama Cake and Desserts Garden. My husband has been working there for more than 25 years. I have asked somebody in my household to translate this message, hoping to get support regarding this tough and difficult time.
Furama Cake and Desserts Garden has been a place for bakery and pastries, the store has gone through many changes over the years. The store is located just south of Dundas Street and next to the Chinatown Centre. Furama has been a popular store where many people from outside the area come and visit. Customers from Markham, Mississauga, Etobicoke and other locations come by just to say "Hi" and pickup pastries.
Furama Cake and Desserts Garden has been servicing the community with their delicious egg tarts, hot dog buns, pineapple buns, coconut buns, wife cakes, sponge cakes, milk tea, and many other Chinese favorites. These names are unforgettable coming from someone who eats them quite often. It's also a popular hot spot for many children, students, and elderly people. My son once told me, over the years this bakery has been the middle ground for people who swing by after having dim sum, coming from internet cafe, or even walking around China Town Centre.
As much as I would like to be optimistic, I do understand the customer service landscape has changed. Online ordering systems has created a brutal competition among many private businesses that has been operating under a smaller scope where technology is not a common practice. Needless to say, COVID-19 has also put the nail in the coffin for many businesses including Furama Cake and Desserts Garden. A secondary Furama location (100 King St. W - First Canadian Place) was closed in March 2020 and now the primary location is closing its doors in September 2020.
Being a historical and traditional location in the Chinatown area, it's very sad to see Furama go. Happy customers play a critical part of the business and this is nothing unusual in Chinatown, whether you go to Rol San, King's Noodle, or any other location in the area you always see happy smiles, laughs and giggles, or crowding ambient noises.
The bakery will officially shut down on September 29, 2020, afterwards all the staff will be unemployed. My husband and his colleagues are older workers, they will face new hurdles during this Covid-19 economic crisis. It will be difficult for older age people seeking new job opportunities, especially in this sector.
We are asking the community to help us so we can use these funds to support the workers affected by this closure. All the proceeds will go to the employees at Furama Cake and Desserts Garden. Please support us on this GoFundMe page, also, don't forget to visit the store one last time, take a photo, pick up some pastries and say "Good Bye".
Organizer
Yee Chow
Organizer
Toronto, ON