threnody
Active Member
I find it especially ironic that you can apparently "come as you are" there. Every time I've been out in Queen West I get the feeling that I'm just not hipster enough for everyone there.
|
|
|
Church-Wellesley Village
- Thread starter dt_toronto_geek
- Start date
OttoSchloss
Active Member
Here's the scoop about Crews from my inside source. It will reopen. The license issue is the main issue. And it's reopening as a bar catering to bachelorette parties*.
I just think they handled it a tad arrogantly without any concern for their customer base.
*just kidding about the bachelorette parties but it is reopening
I just think they handled it a tad arrogantly without any concern for their customer base.
*just kidding about the bachelorette parties but it is reopening
Torontovibe
Senior Member
I'm just glad it's not closing, there are already few good options as it is.
dt_toronto_geek
Superstar
I just spoke to a good friend two nights who has worked there for many years and is as well connected as anyone; "no news". Sure, he/she could be out of the loop but there's nothing that could be passed onto me as to what's happening with Crews/Tango. The business was sold, what happened after the sale is unknown.
The holdout for the condo rumour that was going around three or four years ago are the owners of George's Place & the Crews/Tango property. Crews/Tango could apparently be sold for a price but the owner of George's Place property ain't selling and that's part of the package that the developer was holding out for as I have heard they have the parking lot and the property at the S/W corner of Maitland & Church.
This is all of what I have heard over the years from two sources, one who is a 25+ yr. real estate agent who lives in the immediate area and another a well placed community business person. It could all be bumpkis, but their stories generally align.
JasonParis
Moderator
I think you are being a little hard on it. It's certainly there, but not in an obvious way. Besides The Beaver, there's no actual gay bars or establishments, but a variety of the bars and clubs have gay nights or have a heavy gay presence. It's a different experience for sure and maybe not quite a "gay village" in the historic sense, but it is definitely there.
BTW, Bigliardi's Steak House at 463 Church St announced today they will be closing. Let the speculation begin on what will replace them!
Torontovibe
Senior Member
Bigliardi's was always a strange place. In all the years I've been hanging out on Church Street, I have never seen a single person go in or come out of that place. Hopefully, now something a bit more interesting can take it's place and help animate the street. As for Queer West, yeah, I know it's there, it just has no real queer identity or visible sings of being a Gay Village. It will be a very long time before it becomes a place where gay/queer people mingle, cruise and hang out. (Despite what it's promoters say and write)
Roy G Biv
Senior Member
I always thought Bigliardi's was an obvious front for money-laundering, since no one I know has ever eaten there..... And it has like no windows...
threnody
Active Member
Seriously, has anyone ever seen anybody go in there?
dt_toronto_geek
Superstar
My balcony faced Bigliardi's, we often wondered and joked about how they were able to stay open as we so rarely saw anyone go in or out.
We went there once, a group of us did New Years Eve there in the late 90's. The food was terrific, a little pricey but not too bad however the service was really bad. The other thing that was odd was we didn't feel "welcome" there if you know what I mean. We never went back.
We went there once, a group of us did New Years Eve there in the late 90's. The food was terrific, a little pricey but not too bad however the service was really bad. The other thing that was odd was we didn't feel "welcome" there if you know what I mean. We never went back.
College Park
Active Member
Reproachment seeps out of the place: light-and-sunshine on the street momentarily darkens on it's doorstep.
JasonParis
Moderator
I know Bigliardi's was sometimes used as a shooting location for movies/TV shows, but otherwsie, I too have rarely seen anyone go in or out.
deerparker
Active Member
George Bigliardi's steak house: The last supper
After 32 years, the iconic steak house is closing its doors Sept. 26. Sinatra. Mickey Rooney. Bette Midler. Wayne Gretzky. Even Pope John Paul II dropped by. Now it's all coming to an end as Bigliardi prepares to close his Church St. restaurant, a fixture since 1977
September 11, 2009
Nick Aveling
Staff Reporter
George Bigliardi has pull.
The 73-year-old restaurateur, owner of George Bigliardi's steak house on Church St., is so connected he once altered the Pope's parade route through Toronto – just for a photo-op. Then there was the time he persuaded Barney the Dinosaur to drop by the restaurant and meet his daughter, who ran away in terror.
He has the pictures to prove it, and hundreds of stories to go along with them. But on Sept. 26, Bigliardi is closing the book on his life's work, selling his restaurant and finally taking a break.
"I need a little rest," he says.
It's long overdue. Since arriving in Toronto from Parma, Italy, 50 years ago, Bigliardi has worked 14 hours a day, six days a week (if not seven). His knees are a wreck.
"After my next operation in December, I'll be ready to go," he said.
He isn't kidding.
Bigliardi's upper body seems to drag his legs around the room as he answers phones and mixes drinks. He talks at the speed of an auctioneer, pointing out pictures of famous patrons including Frank Sinatra, Mickey Rooney, Bette Midler, Wayne Gretzky, Gordon Lightfoot and "the guy from MASH."
It's the people he'll miss most, he says. "I didn't realize it would be so hard. If I knew it would have been this bad I would have closed overnight and put up a sign: `Gone Fishing.' But I want to say goodbye to the clientele because they've been so good to me over the years."
Public introspection isn't exactly Bigliardi's thing, but he agrees his arrival in Toronto is at least in part responsible for his love of company. He came alone, stepping off the boat a skinny 23-year-old, without so much as a word of English to get him going. "It wasn't easy. Loneliness is the worst thing," he said.
He had to rely on his now legendary work ethic, a trait he began developing at 11 when he quit school and started working to help support his family. It paid off. Within 48 hours of arriving in Toronto, Bigliardi landed a job as a bus boy at the long-defunct Club One-Two.
"Now I get to meet people every day."
The appeal isn't lost on Bigliardi's maître d'Angelos Dimitropoulos, an employee for 22 years.
"I feel privileged to have worked in the best restaurant in town for more than two decades. I want you to underline that," the 53-year-old eulogized last night. "The clientele was amazing: actors, athletes, politicians. You don't find that in most restaurants, and it takes years to build that up. It doesn't just come like that."
Next up, said Dimitropoulos, is a trip to Greece. "I haven't seen my mother in years."
As for Bigliardi, he plans to split his time between family and his "other dream," horse racing.
"I nearly won the Queen's Plate once, but my horse turned sour," said Bigliardi, a mainstay, often in a tuxedo, at Woodbine Racetrack since the mid-'80s. "I'm still breeding. I have two horses in training and another three babies."
Long-time patrons, meanwhile, have yet to devise a Plan B.
"When I got George's note in the mail (that he was closing), it almost brought tears to my eyes. I love George, and I don't know where I'm going to go now to feel at home the way I did there," said Jim Waters, former co-owner of the CHUM empire and a loyal customer since the restaurant opened in 1977. "He actually cooked a meal and took it to the hospital when my wife had our first child. I'll never forget that, and I know he did that for other people, too. He's part of the family."
Bigliardi's was bought recently by the owners of Pizzaiolo, a gourmet pizza chain with 10 locations throughout Toronto. Bigliardi said they're still deciding on the restaurant's future, but he is satisfied he's found the right owners.
There is also the possibility he will open another restaurant in the future, something "more intimate."
Until then, he'll always have his stories.
"Pope John Paul II visited in 1984, and I knew (Gerald Emmett) Cardinal Carter very well; he used to come in for dinner," said Bigliardi. "I wanted a picture of the Pope and my restaurant, but his parade was supposed to go up Jarvis. I called Cardinal Carter and he said, `Let me handle it.' He changed it to Church St. I got the picture and sent it to my mother.
"My mother died happy."
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/694112
After 32 years, the iconic steak house is closing its doors Sept. 26. Sinatra. Mickey Rooney. Bette Midler. Wayne Gretzky. Even Pope John Paul II dropped by. Now it's all coming to an end as Bigliardi prepares to close his Church St. restaurant, a fixture since 1977
September 11, 2009
Nick Aveling
Staff Reporter
George Bigliardi has pull.
The 73-year-old restaurateur, owner of George Bigliardi's steak house on Church St., is so connected he once altered the Pope's parade route through Toronto – just for a photo-op. Then there was the time he persuaded Barney the Dinosaur to drop by the restaurant and meet his daughter, who ran away in terror.
He has the pictures to prove it, and hundreds of stories to go along with them. But on Sept. 26, Bigliardi is closing the book on his life's work, selling his restaurant and finally taking a break.
"I need a little rest," he says.
It's long overdue. Since arriving in Toronto from Parma, Italy, 50 years ago, Bigliardi has worked 14 hours a day, six days a week (if not seven). His knees are a wreck.
"After my next operation in December, I'll be ready to go," he said.
He isn't kidding.
Bigliardi's upper body seems to drag his legs around the room as he answers phones and mixes drinks. He talks at the speed of an auctioneer, pointing out pictures of famous patrons including Frank Sinatra, Mickey Rooney, Bette Midler, Wayne Gretzky, Gordon Lightfoot and "the guy from MASH."
It's the people he'll miss most, he says. "I didn't realize it would be so hard. If I knew it would have been this bad I would have closed overnight and put up a sign: `Gone Fishing.' But I want to say goodbye to the clientele because they've been so good to me over the years."
Public introspection isn't exactly Bigliardi's thing, but he agrees his arrival in Toronto is at least in part responsible for his love of company. He came alone, stepping off the boat a skinny 23-year-old, without so much as a word of English to get him going. "It wasn't easy. Loneliness is the worst thing," he said.
He had to rely on his now legendary work ethic, a trait he began developing at 11 when he quit school and started working to help support his family. It paid off. Within 48 hours of arriving in Toronto, Bigliardi landed a job as a bus boy at the long-defunct Club One-Two.
"Now I get to meet people every day."
The appeal isn't lost on Bigliardi's maître d'Angelos Dimitropoulos, an employee for 22 years.
"I feel privileged to have worked in the best restaurant in town for more than two decades. I want you to underline that," the 53-year-old eulogized last night. "The clientele was amazing: actors, athletes, politicians. You don't find that in most restaurants, and it takes years to build that up. It doesn't just come like that."
Next up, said Dimitropoulos, is a trip to Greece. "I haven't seen my mother in years."
As for Bigliardi, he plans to split his time between family and his "other dream," horse racing.
"I nearly won the Queen's Plate once, but my horse turned sour," said Bigliardi, a mainstay, often in a tuxedo, at Woodbine Racetrack since the mid-'80s. "I'm still breeding. I have two horses in training and another three babies."
Long-time patrons, meanwhile, have yet to devise a Plan B.
"When I got George's note in the mail (that he was closing), it almost brought tears to my eyes. I love George, and I don't know where I'm going to go now to feel at home the way I did there," said Jim Waters, former co-owner of the CHUM empire and a loyal customer since the restaurant opened in 1977. "He actually cooked a meal and took it to the hospital when my wife had our first child. I'll never forget that, and I know he did that for other people, too. He's part of the family."
Bigliardi's was bought recently by the owners of Pizzaiolo, a gourmet pizza chain with 10 locations throughout Toronto. Bigliardi said they're still deciding on the restaurant's future, but he is satisfied he's found the right owners.
There is also the possibility he will open another restaurant in the future, something "more intimate."
Until then, he'll always have his stories.
"Pope John Paul II visited in 1984, and I knew (Gerald Emmett) Cardinal Carter very well; he used to come in for dinner," said Bigliardi. "I wanted a picture of the Pope and my restaurant, but his parade was supposed to go up Jarvis. I called Cardinal Carter and he said, `Let me handle it.' He changed it to Church St. I got the picture and sent it to my mother.
"My mother died happy."
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/article/694112
Roy G Biv
Senior Member
What the hell? People went there?
I wonder how he felt about being in the gay ghetto...
I wonder how he felt about being in the gay ghetto...
dt_toronto_geek
Superstar
It wasn't the gay ghetto in the early days and from what I've heard over the years, it wasn't gay friendly and I got that feeling there myself. As I said above I was in there once, great food terrible service. The six of us just didn't feel welcome there. It was near impossible to get a waiter for more drinks so we figured around 11:30 we'd better order alcohol now for our midnight toast but we didn't get it on time. To be fair we complained upon leaving and we were offered a free bottle of wine on our next visit.
Bon Voyage Bigliardi's.
Bon Voyage Bigliardi's.