News   Apr 26, 2024
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Distillery District

The emptying cacao 70, the “maybe it’ll open someday” Old Flame Brewery, and the incredibly wasteful application of vinyl wrap signage to the 200yo brick people came to see.
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The emptying cacao 70, the “maybe it’ll open someday” Old Flame Brewery, and the incredibly wasteful application of vinyl wrap signage to the 200yo brick people came to see.
Huh, what happened to Cacao 70? It always seemed so busy.

The Old Flame was apparently struggling with building permits, which they received a few months ago. I think it's quite gutsy to open right next to the Mill Street Brewpub and I hope they succeed. I've heard good things about their Newmarket location.

Over in the new Boreal College building I saw two new businesses have opened next to the new Pen Shoppe. One is called Pepper Place and sells hot sauces (though it appears to be quite a big international chain I thought those weren't allowed in the Distillery?) and the other is Bee & Co selling... things made by bees, I guess. They were giving out some kind of honey samples outside.

Meanwhile (and I know this is technically not inside the Distillery but immediately outside it, which feels like an important evolution of the area) there is coming-soon signage up on the other side of Cherry Street in the new Canary Landing building for a new yet-unnamed "Viennoise Bakery and Cafe". It looks like a beautiful space.
 
Huh, what happened to Cacao 70? It always seemed so busy.

The Old Flame was apparently struggling with building permits, which they received a few months ago. I think it's quite gutsy to open right next to the Mill Street Brewpub and I hope they succeed. I've heard good things about their Newmarket location.

Over in the new Boreal College building I saw two new businesses have opened next to the new Pen Shoppe. One is called Pepper Place and sells hot sauces (though it appears to be quite a big international chain I thought those weren't allowed in the Distillery?) and the other is Bee & Co selling... things made by bees, I guess. They were giving out some kind of honey samples outside.

Meanwhile (and I know this is technically not inside the Distillery but immediately outside it, which feels like an important evolution of the area) there is coming-soon signage up on the other side of Cherry Street in the new Canary Landing building for a new yet-unnamed "Viennoise Bakery and Cafe". It looks like a beautiful space.
The Cacao 70 location on Queen West closed a while ago too. I guess the concept was a failure.

Is Old Flame going into the large space that housed an antique store??
 
I went to the Cacao 70 on Queen once, maybe around 5 or 6 years ago. Could be a cute spot for a date or the IG folks, but I don't think it was memorable enough to want to go back for a repeat visit. There's too many cafe trends out there that Cacao's concept quickly became outdated.
 
Cacao 70s parent company went under. Someone had said the Distillery Restaurant Group was going to put in a burrito joint. It seems that District Pizza did well enough to expand a little in providing cheaper eats and a place to sit down inside so… but they just put in a donut booth outside Sweetie Pie (they must have been thrilled) that looks pretty sloppily put together. They also seem to really be going in on the Illuminarium exhibit, building stuff in the fermenting cellar and plastering temporary vinyl signage on everything.

Personally, if I had a massive bank account and the opportunity to use the fermenting cellar space- I’d put in a fresh bagel place a La St Viateur. Ovens, conveyor belt, make a show of it- I think it would kill.
 
The Christmas Market opens on November 16th, 2023:

The Christmas booths are already back, and all the public seating is gone. I look forward to two months of traffic chaos in the surrounding area, which is already nightmarish due to the 76 simultaneous construction projects nearby.
 
The Christmas booths are already back, and all the public seating is gone. I look forward to two months of traffic chaos in the surrounding area, which is already nightmarish due to the 76 simultaneous construction projects nearby.
Was it always paid admission? I don't remember that from the last time I visited, and I always enjoy paying for the privilege of spending more money.
 
Was it always paid admission? I don't remember that from the last time I visited, and I always enjoy paying for the privilege of spending more money.
Interesting, they used to just have tickets on the weekends to control crowding, but now it seems like it will be ticketed every day. And I notice it's now 7 days a week, so we don't even get a reprieve on Mondays. But the tickets are all timed, to spread out visitors, so maybe the event will be less hectic for the neighbourhood overall. I hope they strongly communicate that there is very little parking anywhere in the vicinity these days.
 
Interesting, they used to just have tickets on the weekends to control crowding, but now it seems like it will be ticketed every day. And I notice it's now 7 days a week, so we don't even get a reprieve on Mondays. But the tickets are all timed, to spread out visitors, so maybe the event will be less hectic for the neighbourhood overall. I hope they strongly communicate that there is very little parking anywhere in the vicinity these days.

If you look on the website, you can see that Monday to Thursday is free. Tickets only need to be purchased if you want to go Friday, Saturday, Sunday after 4PM.
 
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