DECA’s extremely keen Renew East Danforth project is hosting another series of pop-up shops this December. All interested businesses, social and artistic enterprises are invited to submit an application to be considered for a one-month, free opportunity to create a pop-up shop on Danforth East from December 1st to December 31st. We will be accepting applications using the form at www.danfortheastcommunityassociation.com until Wednesday November 14th.
What is a pop-up shop?
Pop-up shops are temporary stores that pop-up for anywhere from a few days to a few months in empty storefronts. Landlords lend their space to enterprises for a short time free-of-charge and the impact is win-win. The enterprise gets the opportunity to try the space and the neighbourhood to see if it is a viable location to start something more permanent and the landlord gets their space cleaned, painted and staged for potential renters to consider it for future use.
Who needs to be involved in making a pop-up a success?
The key ingredients to a pop-up success are:
- A landlord willing to lend their space for a month or more, free-of-charge
- A business, artistic or social enterprise that wants to use the space and has a plan draw lots of foot traffic
- A group of volunteers willing to help clean, paint and prep the space.
How can it benefit the community?
Pop-ups have proven wildly successful at revitalizing empty, lagging or struggling commercial areas. Stories from cities and towns across Australia, the United States, Canada, and the U.K. all demonstrate that pop-ups have the potential to take an area that has limited to no foot traffic, abandoned storefronts, and no competition for renting space and turn them into vibrant and successful commercial areas. More rented storefronts means more foot traffic, less vandalism and safer streets.
A Ginger Bread House MFG. Weekend might be a good pop up.
A huge thank you to all the volunteers and store owners who are making this happen.