Sun Valley grocery store to close after nearly 40 years, condo building to be built

A community hub, where getting a deal on produce is a bonus, Sun Valley Market, a local institution in Birchmount Park, will be closing its doors for good at the end of July. 

Sun Valley Market, a local institution in Toronto’s Birchmount Park, will be closing its doors for good at the end of July.

The grocery store, which has been located at Danforth Avenue and Birchmount Road, first opened its doors in 1986 and will close on July 29th. The original Sun Valley location was a small mom-and-pop shop opened in 1978, then opened a location on the Danforth in 1983, which also closed in 2010.

“The community has embraced us over the years, and we’ve embraced it; it’s been a joy supporting the community and doing whatever we can. That’s the part I’m going to miss,” said Jim Bexis, a co-owner of Sun Valley Market.

And community is on display near every end-cap, with customers shouting, “I’m going to miss you guys” or “I can’t believe” you’re about to close to Bexis and his brother-in-law Peter Vacirtzoglou.

The two men took over the business from their shared father-in-law and have been running the grocery store for nearly two decades. They came up in the business, Bexis having joined the company since the Birchmount location, while Vacirtzoglou started full-time in 2001, but previously worked as a delivery driver on occasion.

“This started as a part-time job and became a lifelong career. No regrets,” Vacirtzoglou said.

The original hope for the two men was to keep it in the family, then they even tried to sell it, but eventually, they decided nobody was looking to buy a grocery store.

“Not too many people were interested. Seven days a week, morning till night, business has got tougher to make money, and most people just want a nine-to-five and a regular job,” said Vacirtzoglou.