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Rising rents on Queen East push out Red Rocket Coffee, which is moving to the Danforth instead

(Image: Amber Dawn Pullin)

Leslieville’s Red Rocket Coffee has been forced to close up shop after its landlord doubled the rent to $49 per square foot. Co-owner Liako Dertilis says the response from his regulars has been immediate. “The TTC guys across the street are livid,” he told us, referring to the workers at the nearby streetcar yard. The news, however, isn’t all bad. Along with his business partners, Dertilis signed a lease late this afternoon for a new location at 1364 Danforth Avenue, near Coxwell. Although Red Rocket’s new home will be a similar size, Dertilis says it won’t be the same. “We have to leave our extended family—that is, our customers,” he said. “These are the people who come into the store, and we hug them… We feel like we’ve been robbed of that.” The Wellesley Street location is unaffected.

The Informer

In Transit

October 19, 2011 | 11:00 am

5 Comments

Citizen with easy subway access seeks to raise Transit City from the dead

An online petition calling for the revival of Transit City has attracted around 1,800 signatures so far, thanks to a Torontonian who lives close to the Bloor-Danforth subway line. Trish O’Reilly-Brennan says she was inspired to start the petition after hearing David Miller’s suggestion that the system could still be built and watching Rob Ford get schooled compromise on the Waterfront. InsideToronto points out that some Scarborough folks might resent O’Reilly-Brennan for advocating in favour of light-rail transit instead of the Sheppard subway station. Indeed, this would appear controversial if the Sheppard subway were roaring toward completion—but it’s not. Read the entire story [Inside Toronto] »

The Goods

From the Print Edition

October 17, 2011 | 10:30 am

3 Comments

The Chase: A rent-averse young professional moves out of his parents’ place and into a Danforth home

Rohan Pinto, a 28-year-old graphic designer. By Bert Archer

The Buyer: Rohan Pinto, a 28-year-old graphic designer.

The Story: Since graduating from Durham College in 2006, Pinto lived rent-free with his parents in Scarborough and commuted to his office at King and Spadina. “I’m of the school that sees paying rent as throwing your money away,” he says. Once he’d saved enough, he went looking for a place of his own. He started with condos, but soon learned that monthly fees can be as much as $800, which felt just like paying rent. He decided to buy a house, even if it meant having a slightly higher mortgage. He also liked the idea of finding a fixer-upper he could add value to over time. So he set his budget at $400,000, pinpointed a street he liked in the Woodbine Corridor (midway between work and his parents) and viewed house after house until he found The One.

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The Dish

Opening

October 11, 2011 | 12:26 pm

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Introducing: Off the Hook, Greektown’s new fish and chips shop

Open only a couple weeks, Off the Hook already has a strong local following (Image: Daniel Barna)

A punning name seems to be obligatory for fish-and-chips shops these days. First there was The One That Got Away, which opened last fall on King Street West. Now Steven Karataglidis has opened Off the Hook on Broadview, which, in addition to succeeding Deep Blue as the Greektown’s only fish fry, might be Toronto’s first shop to fry its daily catch in gluten-free batter.

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The Informer

City Sindex

August 9, 2011 | 1:45 pm

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Danforth business owner and arsonist may get 10 years in the slammer—but he’ll also get to profit from his crime

The law came down on John Mango—sort of (Image: walknboston)

This story reads more like a true crime novel with each passing day: a Danforth family business is burned to the ground, killing one of the arsonists in the process. Then, the operation’s master planner—who also happens to be the owner of the burned-down business—was found guilty of conspiracy to commit arson but somehow still allowed to profit from the redevelopment of the property that once housed his business.

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The Dish

From the Print Edition

August 8, 2011 | 10:30 am

4 Comments

Why Greek wines are about to become the next big thing

Greek wines are as intriguing as their popular French and Italian counterparts, and they’re half the price
By David Lawrason

(Illustration: Jack Dylan)

Pine-scented retsina has left a bitter taste with many wine drinkers, but Greek wine has moved on, and it’s poised to become the next big thing, with more Greek labels making their way into trendy restaurants beyond the Danforth. More than 300 indigenous grapes are grown in the country’s 28 wine-growing appellations, which are home to more than 650 wineries. And the quality and value has only been getting better over the last 10 years. The new Greek wines combine the firm acid and mineral structure of many European wines with the ripe, bright fruitiness often found in hotter New World regions. The country’s core strength is aromatic yet steely whites, like moschofilero and assyrtiko, that will appeal to riesling and gewürztraminer fans. Lighter-weight, complex reds like xinomavro and agiorgitiko are similar to pinot noir and Italian nebbiolo. The LCBO’s selection is still meagre, but Vintages carries some excellent-value bottles, while Kolonaki Group, an Ontario-based Greek wine specialist, offers great buys by the case. Here, nine bottles worth trying, even if you’re not serving souvlaki.

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The Dish

Restauran-TO

July 21, 2011 | 5:14 pm

3 Comments

Matthew DeMille, formerly of Parts and Labour, takes the helm as Enoteca Sociale’s new chef

Rocco Agostino and Matthew DeMille, both of Enoteca Sociale (Image: Renée Suen)

Earlier this month, Enoteca Sociale, the popular west-end Italian wine bar, posted a notice on their website that their long search for a new chef was over. Executive chef and co-owner Rocco Agostino told us that the restaurant was looking for someone willing to take the concept of the Roman-style wine bar and make it their own. Their pick? Matthew DeMille, most recently known as Matty Matheson’s sous chef at Parts and Labour; his new gig starts tomorrow.

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The Dish

Opening

July 21, 2011 | 12:22 pm

12 Comments

Introducing: The Combine Eatery, the new place for fish tacos on the Danforth

Outside the new southwestern restaurant (Image: Karolyne Ellacott)

The Combine Eatery, a new southwestern comfort food spot started by siblings Albert and Amy Chan, stands out from the slew of Greek eateries along the Danforth strip. Amy’s background in fashion frequently led her to San Diego, where she quickly took to gobbling up fish tacos during her downtime, which was the starting point for the restaurant.

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The Informer

Gimme Shelter

July 13, 2011 | 12:30 pm

15 Comments

House of the Week: $1 million for a mod-style maison just north of the Beach

ADDRESS: 248 Scarborough Road

NEIGHBOURHOOD: East End–Danforth

AGENT: Audrey Azad, Re/Max Hallmark Realty Ltd., Brokerage.

PRICE: $999,000

THE PLACE: Just north of the Beach, this four-bedroom house blends retro mod and a contemporary aesthetic: sleek glass walls and a whole lot of beige, with ’60s-style lamps and a Brady Bunch–esque open-riser staircase.

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The Informer

To Market, To Market

June 29, 2011 | 11:45 am

2 Comments

Danforth condo development sparks controversy—but this time the building’s height isn’t the problem (hint: there’s arson involved)

The alleged arsonists of a Danforth store and the new condo developers are one and the same (Image: Harsha K R)

If you follow Toronto’s real estate beat, you’re probably familiar with the basic life cycle of condo development in the city, so please excuse us if we’re a little unfair to all sides for brevity’s sake. First, a developer proposes constructing something higher than a two-storey home. Then, the community objects to the preposterous height and the city intervenes, proposing a settlement that makes exactly nobody happy. The developer responds by going to the Ontario Municipal Board, which, in turn, gives that same developer everything it wanted in the first place. And—voila—a new condo is born. Given that twisted process, we think it’s safe to say the city’s relationship with tall buildings is pretty darn dysfunctional. But for once there’s a condo tower set to go up that blows all that out of the water. Unfortunately, not exactly in a good way.

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The Dish

De-licious

June 22, 2011 | 5:06 pm

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Summerlicious 2011: Toronto Life’s top picks east of the DVP

SUMMERLICIOUS 2011 | EAST

Although Summerlicious is more generous to diners in the west, here are five of Toronto Life’s east-of-the-DVP favourites.

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The Informer

From the Print Edition

April 27, 2011 | 9:15 am

7 Comments

The Chase: the search for a Danforth house with an extra suite to rent out—for under $500,000

Jo-Anne McArthur

She wanted to stay in her neighbourhood, but she had to share her front door to do it By Bert Archer

The Buyer: Jo-Anne McArthur, a 34-year-old freelance photographer.

The Story: McArthur had been renting a house near Danforth and Jones for four years, and wanted to buy in the area. When her parents, who live in Ottawa, proposed purchasing an investment property, she figured they could team up, and she would buy them out in (she hoped) about 10 years. Since her parents wanted to earn some income from the house, she would look for a place with an extra suite to rent out—an easy stipulation for McArthur, who is usually abroad six months a year with her camera and is used to subletting to short-term tenants. With a maximum budget of $500,000, she enlisted Julie Hughes of Keller Williams and started the search.

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The Informer

Streetcar Named Disaster

January 24, 2011 | 5:03 pm

12 Comments

TTC puts second entrance to Donlands station exactly where it wanted to in the first place

Sign at Donlands Station (Image: Danielle Scott)

Those with long memories for somewhat obscure controversies might remember a little kerfuffle ensued when the TTC planned to add a second entrance to the Donlands and Greenwood subway stations. What’s the problem? The TTC proposed to condemn several homes in the neighbourhoods around those stations and assimilate them into the new entrances, Borg-style. There was a community outcry, and, predictably, the TTC offered a round of public consultations. The result?

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The Dish

Opening

January 18, 2011 | 4:50 pm

14 Comments

East-enders’ prayers are answered: Pizzeria Libretto to get second location this summer

This is the most exciting news we’ve heard all week: Max Rimaldi, Daniel Clark and chef Rocco Agostino, the partners behind Pizzeria Libretto, are planning to open a second location of their wildly successful pizza joint on the Danforth. Less than a year after Enoteca Sociale, their second venture, opened to raves, the trio is close to finalizing a lease on an east-end space. We caught up with Agostino to find out the details on the new location, set to open as early as the end of this summer.

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