One of Ministry of the Interior’s many window shoppers (Image: Michael Stahl)
Rowdy revelers spilling out of Levack Block and The Ossington may never have noticed the bright yellow building at the corner of Ossington and Humbert, but brunchers and window shoppers loved the design mecca it housed: Ministry of the Interior. After four years on the Ossington strip, owner Jason MacIsaac has decided to close shop, citing high cash costs at the forefront. MacIsaac notes, “I have a furniture gallery, but my type of gallery is way different than an art gallery, because we have to buy everything.”
His desire to move towards the more creative side of the business and focus on interior design triggered a wave of sadness on Twitter, prompting Lauren Baker of nearby LAB Consignment to write, “sad to see Ministry of the Interior leave the Oss Strip. Looking forward to what Jason will do next” and the Pizza Libretto gang to remorsefully comment, “don’t know what you got till it’s gone” (in addition to hashtagging the tweet “#greatloss”). We’re sad to see the design shop go and even sadder to think what this may mean for the already beleaguered Ossington strip. Can we expect another crowded bar, or perhaps a condo developer buying the space next door and creating another Bohemian Embassy? There goes—a piece of—the neighbourhood.
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