The Drake Hotel probably isn’t taking over Jilly’s, maybe

The Drake Hotel probably isn’t taking over Jilly’s, maybe

(Image: Google Street View)

It’s the rumour that still won’t die, even though it’s been nearly a decade now: could The Drake Hotel be taking over Jilly’s Queen East spot? In the two weeks since condo builders Streetcar Developments announced their purchase of the building that houses the Queen and Broadview strip club, plenty have wondered out loud if, finally, the rumour would come true. And now we have an answer: no. (Sort of. Maybe. For now.)

In a statement emailed to Toronto Life by a spokesperson, Drake owner Jeff Stober writes: “We do not have an agreement with Streetcar at this stage to be a part of their plans for the Broadview Hotel. It sounds like a great project and we are big fans of the ‘hood. As an experiential brand, we’re always looking for opportunities and projects that fit in with our mandates of community engagement, reimagining older buildings, hospitality excellence and creating hotbeds for culture.” 

For the moment, Stober continued, “much of our energy is focused on launching our lovingly restored and curated Drake Devonshire Inn in Prince Edward County, which opens later this summer.” So what, then, about that Post City feature on Stober that said an announcement about another Drake Hotel in Toronto was “close”? Could this be that? And if there’s no agreement with Streetcar now, does that mean one’s not coming? Stober couldn’t answer; a spokesperson told us that, beyond his emailed statement, an interview with him about Jilly’s wouldn’t be possible. Right now, Stober’s too busy.