Aurora residents driving down Bayview Avenue may have caught a whiff of fried dough on the air, or seen the bright orange sign: Mr Puffs.
Mr. Puffs is a dessert bar that sells fried dough balls, similar to Timbits, as well as milkshakes and other desserts.
The dessert bars, while an institution in Quebec, only started popping up in Ontario a couple of years ago.
Co-owner Gobin Giritharan, 27, first got the idea after his business partner suggested he visit one while on a trip to Montreal.
“We asked him where we should go and he suggested Mr. Puffs. So we went there and I was like, ‘Damn, this is really good.’”
When he returned, he persuaded the Quebec-based company into allowing him to help them expand into Ontario.
Giritharan opened the first franchise in the Greater Toronto Area in Mississauga in July 2022.
“It wasn’t really known, so it was kind of a risk. Because I was opening up a shop that served up fried dough, that’s what a lot of people would say.”
In addition, his first location was next to a Krispy Kreme.
“People said I was crazy.”
But the store proved popular, staying open until 2 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.
Giritharan studied computer science and was working from home prior to opening his first location. The original plan was to manage this business on the side but it became his full-time job, with the second location in Aurora opening last March.
“People were afraid because of COVID, a lot of businesses were shutting down. My dad owns a bar and the bar industry took a huge hit.
"It was a chance we took, I didn’t expect it to become a full-time thing, but it kind of took off.
"I love connecting with the community. Aurora is such a tight-knit community, which I really like.”
Mr. Puffs is located at 15610 Bayview Ave., Aurora.
