Shahroze Rauf | Assistant News Editor
Featured Image: After serving the York campus for almost 25 years, Inkblotz is unable to continue business. | Lung Liz
Inkblotz, the last family business at York Lanes, will be closing down on January 31, and the last day of operation for their Post Office will be January 25. The owners of the stationary store with a post office at the back, Minja “Minnie” Choi and Chanbae “James” Choi, have decided to close shop.
The owners wrote a document explaining the story of Inkblotz, and their business dealings and negotiations with York Lanes over the years.
“Around two years ago, the Inkblotz store lease expired in August 2016, we asked YUDC (York University Developer Corp.) for a new lease, but they verbally gave a two-year lease. This made us realize that we were going to have trouble keeping our business running,” the owners say.
Professor in the Department of Humanities at York Jody Berland was concerned for the situation surrounding Inkblotz.
“It made me feel quite sad,” Berland says. “This couple was very patient. They tried to bring in things the university community would like, and worked long hours.”
Berland said she and a colleague filed an inquiry regarding the displacement three years ago of the York Bookstore, by Shoppers Drug Mart, under the Freedom of Information Act—but the request was turned down.
“The YUDC is a corporation owned by York, and York Lanes is one of the sites that is managed by York, says Advisor and Deputy Spokesperson Janice Walls.
“As these are leases with commercial operations, the terms are not public information,” Walls says.
In May 2018, Metrolinx took the PRESTO machine away from Inkblotz, which was almost 65 to 70 per cent of the store’s revenue income, according to the owners.
Around this time, Inkblotz says that Canada Post also wanted a new contract.
“A ten-year contract plus renovations, which we would have to pay out of our own pockets,” the owners say.
Shoppers then allegedly replied to Inkblotz this past September, saying they would allow them to keep the Canada Post office for five years. However, the small business would still have to pay for renovations, which could amount to anywhere from $60,000 to $70,000.
“The renovations are necessary because more people are shopping online, and we need more Canada Post space for this increase in shipments,” the owners say.
At this point, Inkblotz was not making any income. Their PRESTO machine had been taken away, and the Canada Post office was still in disarray due to the possible change. Unable to produce a solid business plan, the owners decided it was time to close down shop.
Minnie explains they invested a lot into Inkblotz, and now they feel angry about their situation, especially since they believed that by being tenants at York Lanes for 25 years, negotiations with the YUDC would go better.
“I understand where she’s coming from in terms of her anger. We invested over half a million dollars. Our clients are students, and it was expensive to come here,” says Choi’s husband.
“We thought we could retire here.”
