TORONTO — A co-owner of the Taiwanese bubble tea café opening at 29 Baldwin Street – the storefront whose front window bears what’s believed to be Toronto’s last commercial Yiddish sign – says he and his partners can relate to the Jewish community’s desire to preserve the historic lettering and will co-operate with efforts to salvage it.

“It’s easy for us to understand what the Jewish community wants to do, because we also want to promote our culture, Taiwanese culture… I’ve talked to the [Ontario Jewish Archives, Blankenstein Family Heritage Centre (OJA)] and we have the same mindset to protect the sign,” said Taiwanese-Canadian Daniel Li, part owner of the new café – a franchise called Formocha – and full owner of the café’s original Yonge and Eglinton location.

The painted Yiddish letters, which translate to “Eggs, cheese, cream cheese, made fresh every day,” originally adorned the former Mandel’s Creamery, one of the many Jewish-owned businesses that lined Baldwin Village and the adjacent Kensington Market from the early 20th century to the 1950s.

Though left intact for decades by the storefront’s next (non-Jewish) occupant, John’s Italian Caffe, the sign appeared to be in jeopardy earlier this month when John’s Italian Caffe closed.

The shop’s new owners subsequently plastered the windows with decals advertising Formocha’s September opening and obscuring the Yiddish letters.

The current storefront at 29 Baldwin St. JODIE SHUPAC PHOTO 

Li, who stressed that he and his business partners hadn’t been notified by the previous occupants of the sign’s significance, said they will work with OJA to protect it in one of three ways: leaving it in place and integrating the lettering into Formocha’s design; removing the glass and mounting it in the store as a sort of tribute, or donating the window to the OJA.

“As business owners, we might want to educate people about the [relevance] of the sign, because I think 90 per cent of customers won’t know what it is,” Li said.

Solomon said the OJA will continue talking to Formocha’s owners to determine the best solution for the sign.

After several unsuccessful attempts to contact Formocha’s owners, she first met with Li July 10 to discuss the sign.

Afterward, Solomon told The CJN she was relieved that Li said he understood the significance of the lettering and would co-operate with the OJA in removing the window with the lettering and giving it to the OJA, possibly to turn into a monument to Jewish businesses in the area.

This was her second choice, after the sign being left as is, Solomon said last week.

On July 3, before connecting with Li, the OJA had launched a social media campaign to gather support for the sign’s preservation.

On July 8, it posted a blog on its website calling on the Jewish community to spread the word about the sign’s relevance and donate money to preserve pieces of local Jewish heritage such as this.

The post also dispelled a rumour that the Yiddish writing had already been completely scraped off.

Li told The CJN that when the owners first came into the building to assess the cost of renovations, a contractor scraped off part of one of the letters.

“I would say that 90 per cent of that letter is still there… Right now the letters are protected by the sticker, which is water-proof and removable, so after we take it away, the painting [of the letters] will still be there,” he said.

Li also noted that since the issue went public on social and news media, Formocha has received “negative messages on Facebook and Twitter.”

“We feel so bad. We didn’t do anything. This thing became bigger and bigger,” he added.

Born in Canada but a resident of Taiwan until his early 20s, Li said he hopes Formocha – a play on a nickname for Taiwan – will help expose Canadians to Taiwanese drinks and desserts.

“We are thrilled the owners of Formocha understand the historical significance o the painted sign,” Solomon said, adding that the OJA looks forward to working with Li and his partners on a “a solution that honours the neighbourhood’s Jewish past while celebrating the multicultural layers of our vibrant city.”