Even in normal times, Glad Day bookshop is an intensely creative and inclusive space. Part cafe, part bar, part event space, part oldest-queer-bookshop-in-the-world, the Church and Wellesley establishment is an important feature of Toronto’s LGBT+ community. On an average Sunday, it’s not uncommon to be stopped on Church Street by a towering Drag Queen bursting out the Glad Day doors, straight into traffic and mid-Adele. Hello, indeed.
When the COVID-19 pandemic forced Glad Day to close its doors in mid-March, all the events that usually take place (75 a month on average) were cancelled. This stripped the venue of a desperately needed source of cash revenue for performers, bartenders, DJs and artists. To further complicate matters, Glad Day itself is a small business with a large rent, making its operational viability as uncertain as any other Toronto establishment in the time of COVID-19.