The staff of Tondou Ramen have been staying positive and working together to keep their spirits afloat since early Tuesday morning, when the beloved College Street restaurant was broken into.
Although no one was injured, a stranger did smash through the restaurant’s front door and emptied the register.
In an Instagram post, which included security footage of the stranger – who has yet to be identified or apprehended – the staff wrote, “This person seems like already know where to find money! This money is from our staff’s hard work…This is very disrespectful. We are very mad, sad and disappointed.”
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In the wake of the break-in and robbery, the community has banded together to offer help to the restaurant, which arrived in Little Italy in 2018 to provide some of the best Okinawan dishes in the city.
But Kota Uechi, Tondou Ramen’s owner, has declined any crowdfunding and, instead, has asked that people order from the restaurant to help it stay in business as the pandemic continues.
If you live outside of Little Italy or don’t need the food for yourself, Uechi encourages ordering a meal online and choosing the “pay it forward” option, which allows the restaurant to send the meal to someone else who needs it.
In another Instagram post, which includes a photo of Tondou Ramen’s smashed door, the staff wrote, “We don’t know what the story is behind the person who robbed us, but one thing is for sure – they were not acting from a place of fullness (in both stomach and heart). So let’s work together to keep everyone full and everyone safe.”
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Uechi said the restaurant has received many donations, with customers hoping to indeed pay it forward. Which you can do too, by the way, through UberEats, Skip the Dishes, DoorDash and Ritual.
“It’s been very hard,” he says. “But we’re lucky because nobody was there [at the time of the robbery] and nobody was hurt. That’s the important thing.”
Uechi added that he hopes customers will continue to place orders, as then “we can keep our staff working, keep the business alive and fix our door soon.”
He and his staff remain hopeful that the business will continue to thrive, especially as so many in the Little Italy community and beyond have been eager to help.
“I am surprised at all of the kindness everyone has given us,” he says. “That’s why I like Toronto, everybody helps each other.”