Many residents of Little Jamaica say Monica Lewis’ door was like a magnet.
People pulled it open looking for hair products, reggae records or advice. Many left with all three.
The neighbourhood’s matriarch helped build Little Jamaica through a landmark beauty supply business that was among the first in Ontario to cater specifically to Black hair care. She would ask for your zodiac sign, your family history and whether you needed advice. Community leaders describe her as a titan of industry. Her family remembers her as the glue that held Little Jamaica together.
Lewis died at the age of 86 on May 20. But those who knew her say her influence will continue to shape the neighbourhood for decades.
“She captured you first with her smile,” her son Junior told the Star.
Born and raised in Jamaica, Lewis moved to Toronto with her husband George in the late 1960s. Like many immigrants arriving in the city at the time, they were building a new life from scratch. Together they opened a record shop on Eglinton Avenue West. Over the years, it became a fixture in Little Jamaica.
The shop was more than a place to buy music. It was where Mr. Q’s “Hip Hop Delight” — widely regarded as the first Canadian hip-hop single — was recorded. As reggae records spun and customers drifted in and out, the business evolved alongside the neighbourhood.
Eventually the storefront became Monica’s Beauty Supply Ltd. Customers travelled from across Ontario for products and services that were difficult to find elsewhere. George continued selling reggae records out of the shop.
Over the years, the business became a fixture in Little Jamaica. Tributes from locals and the neighbourhood business association credit Lewis, or Miss Monica, as she was affectionately known, with helping build the neighbourhood while providing a place where people could stop in, talk and seek advice.
Her work even earned a special letter from Mayor Olivia Chow in 2025, who thanked Monica for her contributions to the city.
“She always protected anybody who comes through her door, anybody who comes on that block, anybody comes in the area,” Junior said.
Her protection went beyond people, Junior added. He said his mother pushed back against gentrification as businesses struggled through years of Eglinton Crosstown LRT construction.
Sales declined as work on the street dragged on for more than seven years before the pandemic proved to be the final blow.
Lewis was forced to close the store during COVID-19 and spent her final years with her husband.
George still owns the building near Eglinton Avenue West and Oakwood Avenue. In recent months, the space has been used to host community gatherings and conversations about the future of Little Jamaica.
Local resident Emily Mills said she intentionally held her birthday party there.
“It isn’t just a venue.”
Junior said people still pull on the door when they walk by and look through the windows.
“In any way, shape or form, I need to keep (the building), or the community can keep it.”
Even as business slowed down, Monica continued giving neighbourhood children $20 from the till. Her home also welcomed visitors from Jamaica, including reggae musician Johnny Clarke.
Junior said his mother rarely missed a day at the store.
“She never got up and said ‘I’m not going today. I don’t feel like it.’ She got up every day doing that until she couldn’t do it anymore… I’m just amazed by that.”
Mills said it is important to remember Lewis as a successful entrepreneur as well as a community figure.
“This is a Canadian story, and it’s one that Toronto should be proud of because we are a city made up of many of those stories, and Monica Lewis is one of the shining lights.”
In the weeks since her death, Junior has found himself delivering the news over and over again.
He said people have spent years stopping him on the street to ask about his parents.
The support has been comforting, but the conversations remain difficult.
Junior said does take comfort knowing his mother found peace near the end of her life. A Bible sat at the front desk of her salon for years.
“It carried her to the end because the last thing she said was that she had a talk with God and she’s comfortable.”
“So I know she’s at peace, but I’m not at peace.”
Junior said he sometimes wishes he kept a camera around to capture all of the incredible people in his mother’s life. Now he knows he just has to walk through the neighbourhood.
