The YUDC (York University Development Corporation) has refused to extend Second Cup's lease from January 2020 at York Lanes. They have cited that the 'staff are too young', 'store is too old', 'lines are too long', 'not doing enough for the community', and 'owner not present'.

Rouma Taneja along with her husband, Sunil, are the owners and have operated Second Cup for over 20 years. Rouma is heavily involved with the store operations and has a long history of proactively engaging the York staff and student body. The YUDC president and members claim that they don't see her husband on site, and therefore have concluded that there is a lack of owner presence.

If we allow YUDC to proceed with their unsubstantiated closure it will truly be a great loss for the York University community - much like the loss of Blueberry Hill several years prior.

This location has hosted many community events, employed many students, provided a warm atmosphere for studying and hanging out, and has always been a welcoming home for many international students during holidays. They support budding entrepreneurs and local startups such as Gather to implement their mobile order ahead app to increase the speed of the line up.

The motives behind the closure are likely to be to significantly increase the rent for more profits. The baseless, discriminatory claims have little to no regard for the tangible and intangible benefits this store has brought to the student body and staff.

Losing this Second Cup is not merely a business affair.

Losing this Second Cup is a COMMUNITY AFFAIR.

Please show your support and share your thoughts/memories of why this is Second Cup shouldn't be replaced for mere profit.



You can see all of the stories and join the Facebook group here:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/2ndcupyork/