Restaurant Comings & Goings

[Towered]

The bloodletting continues:

The Duke of Somerset, a British pub that had been at the corner of Bay and Walton since at least the 90's - gone.

Hot Star, an outpost of a much ballyhooed Taiwanese fried chicken chain at Yonge and Gerrard - done.

 

[Fritter]

The bloodletting continues:

Will a new equilibrium be achieved as restaurants close and patrons move on to the remaining restaurants giving them enough business to stay alive?

 

[AlbertC]

Japanese croissant chain, Hazukido, is opening their first North American store in Toronto at the Bay Atrium. Opening day is on November 11th.

Japanese croissant chain opens first North American store in Toronto | Dished

A bakery dedicated to a huge variety of croissants is opening its first location in North America, and it will be calling Toronto home.

dailyhive.com

 

[ShonTron]

The bloodletting continues:

The Duke of Somerset, a British pub that had been at the corner of Bay and Walton since at least the 90's - gone.

The Duke of Somerset never seemed to be open late, despite the surrounding hotels and condos. There's another Duke pub that opened two years ago on University south of Dundas that has a better patio setup, better visibility, and more going on around it. I'm sure that's the one they'll try to hold on to.

 

[Richard White]

The Duke of Somerset never seemed to be open late, despite the surrounding hotels and condos. There's another Duke pub that opened two years ago on University south of Dundas that has a better patio setup, better visibility, and more going on around it. I'm sure that's the one they'll try to hold on to.

Speaking of Dukes..

Does anyone know what's going on with the Duke of Richmond?

It's been boarded up for months.

 

[Towered]

The Duke of Somerset never seemed to be open late, despite the surrounding hotels and condos. There's another Duke pub that opened two years ago on University south of Dundas that has a better patio setup, better visibility, and more going on around it. I'm sure that's the one they'll try to hold on to.

Agreed. Duke of Somerset never looked inviting tucked under that low, oppressive arcade.

 

[Bayer]

Speaking of Dukes..

Does anyone know what's going on with the Duke of Richmond?

It's been boarded up for months.

It's no longer listed on the Duke Pubs website. I used to go there quite often back when I could still eat gluten

 

[fiendishlibrarian]

Speaking of Dukes..

Does anyone know what's going on with the Duke of Richmond?

It's been boarded up for months.

Probably gone for good. I don't think the other two Dukes in the financial district (Westminster and Devon) will make it either, or they'll sacrifice one of the two. I think the Firkins are facing the same issue: in my area the Firkin on Bay and Firkin on Bloor are literally a stone's throw away from each other and I have to think one won't make it (my guess is the one on Bay won't which is a shame because the pub it did replace - Fox's Den - was a really good divey-ish pub in the area that I frequented for about 15 years before it closed). I think the Firkin at Rosedale should be ok,, but I don't think the Crown and Dragon down the street is long for this world.

Honestly, if these places don't own the buildings they're in, such as Hemingway's, The Pilot, etc., you're going to see a pub bloodletting pretty soon.

 

[Richard White]

Probably gone for good. I don't think the other two Dukes in the financial district (Westminster and Devon) will make it either, or they'll sacrifice one of the two. I think the Firkins are facing the same issue: in my area the Firkin on Bay and Firkin on Bloor are literally a stone's throw away from each other and I have to think one won't make it (my guess is the one on Bay won't which is a shame because the pub it did replace - Fox's Den - was a really good divey-ish pub in the area that I frequented for about 15 years before it closed). I think the Firkin at Rosedale should be ok,, but I don't think the Crown and Dragon down the street is long for this world.

Honestly, if these places don't own the buildings they're in, such as Hemingway's, The Pilot, etc., you're going to see a pub bloodletting pretty soon.

The problem with the Firkin pubs is that there are so many of the things... There is a firkin freehouse branded restaurant in every part of the city. Unlike Jack Astors they are a bar primarily which is not ideal right now.

 

[ShonTron]

Speaking of Dukes..

Does anyone know what's going on with the Duke of Richmond?

It's been boarded up for months.

Was that the one attached to the Eaton Centre? It too, suffered from being in a low visibility location and having not much of a patio for where it was.

 

[Richard White]

Was that the one attached to the Eaton Centre? It too, suffered from being in a low visibility location and having not much of a patio for where it was.

It was. I don't think it even had a connection to the inside of the mall or if it ever did.

 

[fiendishlibrarian]

It did, but it was convoluted: if you were in the mall, you had to go up to the level where the bridge to the Bay is, walk into the building elevator lobby next to it, go down a flight of stairs/escalators, then hang a right to the entrance.

 

[Midtown Urbanist]

Probably gone for good. I don't think the other two Dukes in the financial district (Westminster and Devon) will make it either, or they'll sacrifice one of the two. I think the Firkins are facing the same issue: in my area the Firkin on Bay and Firkin on Bloor are literally a stone's throw away from each other and I have to think one won't make it (my guess is the one on Bay won't which is a shame because the pub it did replace - Fox's Den - was a really good divey-ish pub in the area that I frequented for about 15 years before it closed). I think the Firkin at Rosedale should be ok,, but I don't think the Crown and Dragon down the street is long for this world.

Honestly, if these places don't own the buildings they're in, such as Hemingway's, The Pilot, etc., you're going to see a pub bloodletting pretty soon.

The one on Bay is in a building with an active development proposal, so my bets are that it is that one that is sacrificed.

 

[Bayer]

With the government essentially washing its hands of the whole thing and deciding sick people are expendable, setting impossibly high thresholds for further restrictions, I am going to have very little patience with establishments that cannot even respect the rules we do have. For example, I reported Constantine on Charles. St. East to the city for marketing the hotel rooms at the Anndore hotel above it as essentially personal dining rooms, and I am hoping Alobar's patio isn't covered on every side except one when I drop by tomorrow for my Friday take-out, as it has been in the past few weeks, because they will get a piece of my mind otherwise.

 

[Johnny Au]

McDonald's Secret Sauce to being the richest "restaurant" company in the world:

It's through real estate