From Mr. Peanut to Espresso at Faema

by Jeannette Mazzocato

c/o The Tollkeeper’s Cottage Newsletter // Twitter: @tollcottage

During this year’s Superbowl, the Planters Peanut Company killed off its mascot, introduced in 1918, the stylish and elegant Mr. Peanut https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NR7tjj5rX00. He sported a trademark monocle, top hat and cane and represented the company for over a century.
 
That mascot’s fiery demise in the Super Bowl pre-ad reminded me of seeing his image at the building on the northwest corner of Christie and Dupont streets. Here, for almost 40 years, a two storey tall Mr Peanut stood attached to the eastern wall, overlooking the sidewalk. He was a common sight to everyone passing by. He seemed to be tipping his hat to the northbound traffic while alerting us to the Peanut Factory within. In 1987 Planters moved out and, so alas, did Mr. Peanut.
 
Planters Peanuts, however, was not the original occupant of this still-handsome building. It was designed in 1914 and used by the Ford Motor Company for its Model Ts. The first floor, where the Faema Caffe is located now, served as the showroom for the new automobiles. On the second floor, warehouse workers loaded and unloaded daily shipments of engines, transmissions and other parts. On the floor above, workers made repairs. The fourth floor was the assembly line, where employees inspected and packed auto parts by hand. The paint shop—using only black!—was located on the building's top floor. And on the roof was a flat, open area, where a freight elevator delivered vehicles for a test drive. Here a four-foot-high wall prevented an enthusiastic prospective car owner from going over edge and landing onto Christie Street or the adjacent railroad tracks!  As the auto market grew, Ford found that the 110,000-square-foot facility was not large enough for its needs. Production shifted during the mid-1920s to a new plant at Danforth and Victoria Park avenues on the site currently occupied by Lowe’s in the Shoppers World plaza. Portions of that plant were uncovered where the Lowe’s currently stands.
 
Over the next two decades, companies occupying 672 Dupont Street included textile manufacturers, construction-material suppliers, food companies, and head offices for tool producers. In the late 1940s, Planters bought 672 Dupont Street. Mr. Peanut and the entire facility moved to Smiths Falls, Ontario, in 1987.
 
The vacated building was placed on the city’s heritage inventory and underwent a year-long renovation backed by the company now known as the Johnson Investment Counsel. The directors aimed to restore the site to its appearance circa 1916, which included among other things, un-bricking many of its windows. Now the building appears very much as it did in its early days.
 
In 1994, the Di Donato family bought the building from Nabisco. Family patriarch Mike Di Donato had come from Italy, and since 1958 had been introducing Torontonians to Italian-style coffee, by means of the family owned and run Faema Canada.
 
The Di Donato family members carried with them the traditional European respect for history and preservation and wanted to re-create a small reminder of what the building had been. Mike Di Donato’s four sons, who now run the business, created the small but charming museum, including two Model T Fords. They designed and arranged photos, text and video in a high-quality display surrounding one of the autos. At the same time, they were passionate about both the social and culinary culture of coffee.

Pat Di Donato reflected: “Coffee is about more than a beverage. We are social beings, we like to chat, enjoy each other’s company, find out about things. There is an espresso sampling on the second floor, and while they are there, visitors can see and talk about the display. We can always learn from history.”

The main floor currently houses the cafe, while the upper floors include the museum and showrooms for Faema equipment, as well as offices.
 
I was able to visit the Faema showroom before it had to be closed for social distancing. An employee who saw me viewing the cars came over and handed me a one-page history outlining the life of this interesting building. Clearly, the people who work here take pride in their surroundings. Many residents living in the area may be unaware of this charming small museum in our midst. Stop by when it reopens to visit the lovely interior and have an espresso, visit the equipment showroom—you can even take a culinary class—and take a step back in time. However, here’s an advisory to overzealous drivers: the elevator access to the rooftop has been bricked off. No longer is there a chance of taking a spin on the open-air test-track!
 

Sources: Telephone interview with Pat Di Donato
Heritage plaques on main floor of 672 Dupont http://torontoplaques.com/Pages/Story_Behind_672_Dupont.html 
FAEMA http://faemamdd.com/faemawebsite/History.html
Jamie Bradburn jbcurio@yahoo.ca; Gerry Condotta, Village Living, Now and Then, The Historic Transformation of Christie and Dupont: February 18, 2016
Toronto Star, Historic building comes with a car test track on the rooftop: Apr 5, 2013 
Photo, below, Model T: Ford Motor Company archives. Photo of building exterior by J. Mazzocato

Old Showroom

One of the Model T Ford cars on display in the 672 Dupont Street showroom during the early years of the 1900's. The small museum includes two such motorcars with additional explanatory displays.

672 Dupont

The building at the corner of Dupont and Christie Streets has served as a Model T assembly plant and showroom, peanut factory, video store and now, Faema equipment showroom and restaurant/cafe.