Mabel's Fables Next Chapter Fund

Mabel's Fables Bookstore opened at 662 Mount Pleasant Road, Toronto in September 1988. Many families, both local and from afar, have been supporting us for generations. Some people call us a cultural icon in our community. We are known for our amazing curated book selection, our booksellers' expertise, our Baby's First Library gift baskets, birthday book bundles, and our popular Book-of-the-Month subscription program.

We are proud to say that we have already weathered a number of storms; the decreased traffic due to the LRT construction hit us in 2018, the purchase of our building by developers in 2019, and of course, the COVID-19 pandemic, when our doors were locked for eleven months. It is only because of the huge support from our customers and community, that we slowly have been able to recover.

A move is not our preference but out of necessity, as our landlord has informed us of their intention to build a condominium in the next two years. Our building will be demolished. While our landlords say they will find us a temporary location during construction, we know that could be even harder to recover from.

So, to be proactive, we have been shopping for a new Mabel's Fables home.

And we found one! Just 422 steps south of our current location, 540 Mount Pleasant Road has wonderful possibilities. The store will be on one level. We will have extra room for events such as our baby and toddler classes, book launches, book clubs, school visits, presentations, and baby book showers. It even has the same north-west corner as we have at our Hillsdale location. Mabel’s Fables 2.0 will have the same feel, the same wonderful books, the same wonderful people and kids, and the same hard-working bookstore cat.

But we will not be to make this vision a reality this without your support!

Moving to a new location means a lot of additional expenses that are impossible for a small bookstore like us to weather alone which is why we are asking for your help.

Our goal is to raise $150,000 to help us cover moving expenses including:

• Renovations to the new space including a customer washroom, tearing down multiple walls to make room for our storyroom event space, painting, electrical, lighting, flooring and carpets

• New custom bookshelves, display furniture, signage and new computers

• Moving week costs including movers costs, additional staff hours to pack up the store, and set up

• Income that will be lost during the week we will be closed for the move.

With these funds we will be able to focus on making the new location just as magical as our store has always been, and show everyone that 540 Mt Pleasant Road is another happy place for our community's children and grandchildren to enjoy as we transform it into another Toronto destination for years to come.

We are so very grateful for your continued support for Mabel’s Fables. We would not be here without our wonderful customers and community.

Thank you thank you thank you!

Stay up to date with all the latest news - follow us on Facebook and/or Instagram.

We will close our current location permanently August 23, 2025. Watch for us opening just down the street early September 2025!