The neighbourhood includes numerous cafés, clothing shops, shoe stores, restaurants, food markets, as well as several gelaterias and bakeries.

The community is considered Toronto's second Italian ethnic enclave after Little Italy on College Street.

By the 1970s, Italian immigrants from Little Italy on College Street, moved northward to St. Clair Avenue.

One of the largest celebrations on St. Clair Avenue West was when Italy won the 1982 FIFA World Cup, which involved an estimated 300,000 fans, shutting the street down for nearly 20 blocks between Caledonia and Oakwood.

Much of the Italian population has moved to the suburbs northwest of Toronto, in particular, Vaughan, King, and Caledon.