It’s been a busy week for Toronto restaurants. There are a couple of notable closures, including Sushi Kira in Roncesvalles and La Nectarine on Dupont. There have also been a lot of businesses opening up second locations, like locally curated goods shop GoodGood and “Abuela-approved” Real Empanada Co.
To top it off, restaurants, bars and other food establishments may have to pivot again, thanks to Doug Ford’s announcement on Monday that the province will be lifting the proof of COVID-19 vaccination requirement beginning March 1.
Here are the restaurants that opened and closed in Toronto for the week of February 9-15.
Toronto restaurants that closed
La Nectarine
The French restaurant that opened in late October last year announced that it’s closing. Celebrity chef David Adjey says that he hopes to be serving Toronto “at a new location.”
Sushi Kira
According to this post, the popular sushi restaurant in restaurant will be closing on February 19 “due to [the] landlord’s tyranny.” Sushi Kira was a Roncesvalles staple for five years.
New Toronto restaurant openings
GoodGood
In an email to NOW, GoodGood announced that it will be opening its second cafe in the St. Lawrence neighbourhood on February 24. The new location will also feature a wine bar and patio. GoodGood focuses on making locally made food items more accessible, like Chocosol cacao, Lesser Evil popcorn, Nora seaweed snacks and Honey’s ice cream. GoodGood’s founders also say that they will be opening three more cafe and wine bars in different Toronto locations within the next two months.
140A The Esplanade, @makeitgoodgood
Food Rama
This Middle Eastern supermarket and eatery opened downtown on February 6. On offer are dishes like chicken shawarma poutine, shawarma wraps and pizza.
361 Yonge, @foodrama361
Frenchie’s Doughnuts
The doughnut shop opened during the February 4-6 weekend at Kipling and Bloor. They make vibrant-looking doughnuts like Pink Champagne, a strawberry-dipped doughnut decorated with champagne drizzle and champagne gummy bears. There’s also the Breakfast of Champions doughnut, which is made with maple dip, bacon and egg candies.
3830 Bloor West, @frenchiesdoughnuts
Hoolala
The Korean barbecue chicken restaurant opened on February 5 in Richmond Hill. They offer charcoal grilled chicken at different spice levels as well as fried chicken dishes.
1285 Elgin Mills East, @hoolala_canada
Real Empanada Co
The “Abuela-approved, Colombian style” empanada joint opened a new location in the Beaches this Saturday. Similar to their Trinity Bellwoods location, there are beef, chicken, cheese, beyond meat and impossible meat empanadas with salsa at different spice levels. Gluten-free and halal options are also available.
281 Scarborough, @realempanadaco
Rikki Tikki
Taking over Bonafide’s Kensington Market location is Indian restaurant Rikki Tikki. Their Instagram bio says they’ll be opening on February 18.
209 Augusta, @rikki.tikki.to
More Toronto food news
Yesterday, Doug Ford announced that the province will be lifting proof of COVID-19 vaccinations requirements beginning March 1. Businesses will still have the option to enforce proof of vaccination if they wish. Indoor dining capacity limits will also be lifted. What does this mean for food establishments, especially considering that mandatory QR code scans were only enacted last month? We’ll have more on that later this week.
Black-owned non-profit Foodpreneur Lab are calling for applications to join their Advisor-Led Start or Scale Path cohort. The non-profit aims to help Black entrepreneurs launch or grow their food businesses through mentorship and funding. The deadline to apply is February 28 at 11:59 pm.
A reminder that the city of Toronto has opened applications to restaurants for $7,500 funding for outdoor public patio improvements through their CaféTO Property Improvement Program. The deadline is June 30, 2022.
