Paperboy Cards & Gifts Inc

The digital age has nothing on Steven Gerry. The owner of Paperboy — a card and gift shop nestled a few steps away from St. Clair Avenue and Yonge Street — only keeps witnessing growth in the paper industry. Steven’s brick-and-mortar business, which has neither a website nor social media presence, has seen continuous growth thanks to word-of-mouth and a loyal client-base.

The neighbourhood was an obvious choice for Steven, who had already garnered a following while working at the former Paper Ideas up the street. “I’ll never forget how wild the first day was,” he says. The store opened on October 31, 2002 with signs posted on the windows explaining Steven’s history in the neighbourhood. “We didn’t have very many items because I didn’t know what sort of response we would get. I didn’t have nearly enough,” Steven explains. "The neighbourhood response has been really, really good. We had an amazing first day.”