Ossington Village » Brians

Hawker Bar Gets License Go Ahead

Brians — Thu, 10 May 2012 14:16:48 +0000

We are delighted to see (HT to Trinity Bellwoods CA) that Hawker Bar can finally join the breweries, tapas bars, and other fine dining establishments on the street and start serving liquor. If you hadn’t been following along, there were some neighbours who were opposing the license fearing drunken late-night patrons. There were a few conditions to the go-ahead (mostly very minor, and courtesies any sensible bar owner would do anyway), but at least they will be allowed to stay open late. We’d like to give a big thanks to Mike Layton, who, we understand, worked hard to bring the two sides together.

They have already been receiving a lot of press, and the biggest challenge they will face is having a seat for every patron that wants to visit. It’s a small place and there are already lines there from early in the evening to try their Singapore street-food style cuisine.

Town Moto opens, bringing motorcycle gear to the neighbourhood

Brians — Sat, 05 May 2012 01:36:51 +0000

Town Moto opened on Ossington this week, and we got a chance to meet Marika, the owner, and check out the wares of this fresh new retailer for all things related to the motorcycle. Town Moto is located at 132 Ossington, formerly occupied by Virginia Johnson. The store is full of gear, clothing, accessories, magazines, and more, all dedicated to motorcycles. You’ll now see some nice bikes parked outside and the staff are full of considerable knowledge on the topic. For those who are interested, Marika let us know that neighbours have pointed out that there are now a lot of good looking guys – often in stylish leather jackets – who are stopping by. So even if you aren’t into motorcycles there may be other reasons to stop by and browse the shop.

They’re open daily, so while you’re strolling the neighborhood, stop in and say hi. Keep an eye on their blog for the latest fashions and products they have in stock.

Scenes from Ossington on a Thursday night

Brians — Fri, 04 May 2012 01:37:07 +0000

A busy Bellwoods Brewery with bikes parked out front:

An opening at Gallery at 129:

The lineup at Hawker Bar early on in the evening:

109 Oz Sales Centre Opens with a neighbourhood party

Brians — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 16:10:34 +0000

Last Thursday night, Reserve Properties, the developers behind the new building project at 109 Ossington, threw a party to officially open their sales centre. They threw an event befitting the neighbourhood, with Rolling Rock beer, hors d’oeuvres, DJs and a performance by local musicians Eight and a Half.

The event was well-attended by a mix of locals, potential buyers, friends of the owners, and media, lots of media. We spoke with Sheldon Fenton, the President and CEO of Reserve Properties, who plans to host more events and become a valued member of the Ossington Village community. He mentioned that until they go into full renovation mode the space will host local events and art exhibits.

The DJ at the party prior to the live music:

A montage of local images:

Eight and a Half playing in the upstairs event space:

More Changing Ossington Photos

Brians — Thu, 26 Apr 2012 01:35:21 +0000

Every once in a while we are walking down Ossington and taking pictures of some of the places undergoing change, documenting the neighbourhood so we can remember it before the new places arrive. This week we hit up a few places that have changed in the last few weeks since our last post.

Speaking of that last post, one of the places we caught last time was 109 Ossington. This week we saw further transformation from Mundial Autos into the condo sales centre with a new mural. The building has new illustrations by Ian Keltie and were painted by Toronto-based muralist William Lazos.

We thought we would post this fun poster left over from the now closed Viva Salon (where More Than Pasta is), advertising their tanning services. We know the folks at 109 will probably take this one down very soon.

At the northeast side of Ossington, there is now a full-on strip of restaurants worth archiving. Starting just below the CIBC, are Yours Truly, The Saint Tavern, Salt Wine Bar, Pizza Libretto, Alex Rei, and Fishbar. So much great food in this one short stretch!

The location north of Levack Block has been undergoing a transformation. Connecting the spots between Levack and (now closed) Paramour, this once empty space seems likely to add another retailer to the northeast corner of Ossington and Humbert.

Mamakas Bakery – A Licensed Greek Bakery?

Brians — Sun, 22 Apr 2012 21:16:13 +0000

Spotted at 80 Ossington: A liquor license application for Mamakas Bakery. Formerly the home of Ministry of Interior, the space is now covered in drawings offering hints about the new inhabitant. A google search yielded minimal results, so all we know is what we know on the signs which is the application for a license for a Greek Bakery and these clever drawings.

Can anyone give us more hints into this Greek mystery? At this point it really is all Greek to us.

Hawker Bar Opens

Brians — Wed, 11 Apr 2012 14:46:15 +0000

On top of Monday’s launch of The Saint Tavern, last night we fortuitously happened upon the opening of Hawker Bar at 164 Ossington. Yes, Hawker Bar opened their doors in a soft opening for friends and family to make sure everything worked and try out their creative Singapore “street food” cuisine. They haven’t received their license yet due to some neighborhood teetotalers who have slowed the process. But that hasn’t stopped them from wanting to open their doors and showcase their food.

Don’t worry about the lack of liquor! The ambience, food flavours, and creative “mocktails” the staff served were more than enough! The menu is a work in progress, with a mix of affordable snacks, mains and even a couple of interesting desserts. We tried a couple of snacks, including a light and refreshing cucumber salad and some pork satays, and concluded with a shaved ice dessert with black bean and corn sauce which was a delightful combination of sweet and savoury.

Hawker Bar will officially open for dinner tonight with lunch hours coming soon. According to a recent tweet, their April hours are:

Now Open – The Saint Tavern

Brians — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 02:18:49 +0000

After many years of building (for them) and waiting (for us), The Saint Tavern is now open. After a few nice articles in Toronto Life, they got another one today announcing their opening. On the night of the Jays home opener we headed over to grab some dinner and were pleasantly surprised that we could keep watching the game on their big screen TVs and try out some food. We were particularly impressed with the diversity of the menu. It’s a place where you can feast on a $70 porterhouse steak, snack on $5 pickles, slurp on fresh oysters, or have a main course at a price point anywhere in between. The drink list includes a range of local beers, creative cocktails and a wide selection of scotches and other whiskey.

We only sampled the bone marrow, pickled vegetables and Nicoise salad but will be heading back soon to try more. Go try it yourself!

Reserve Properties Releases Photo of 109 Ossington Design

Brians — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 00:00:41 +0000

The lot at 109 Ossington, previously occupied by Mundial Auto Repairs, is soon to be developed into lofts by Reserve Properties, who have just released artist renderings of the design.

Reserve Properties is also behind nearby Motif Lofts. The new property, called 109OZ, is already attracting attention in the press. The sentence fragments on their website are meant to express a mood:

“These inspired lofts veer towards the unexpected. With a clean modern aesthetic complete with organically stacked profile and vibrant splashes of colour. This is unquestionably, undeniably Ossington.”

We got more information from Reserve Properties, who inform us that the finished building will feature 85 lofts with open concept layouts. Almost every suite will have private outdoor space and European kitchens. A main selling point is, of course, the opportunity to live in a neighborhood with great dining, arts and energy.

Layouts will be one or two bedroom lofts, and prices start at the high $200,000′s. This property is being developed at Ossington south of Argyle, on the east side of the street, just south of More than Pasta.

Changing Ossington

Brians — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:16:56 +0000

As you can see every day walking down Ossington, many of the buildings are transforming – changing to condos, retail spaces, breweries, fine-dining restaurants, and more. Over the weekend we took some photos of some of the places in transition so we can look back in a year or more and remember how the street used to be.

Motif – This development has been in transition for a while. Recently they got approval to build more housing further down Rebecca St.

Hawker Bar – Between I Deal Coffee and the Downtown Lumber the folks at Hawker Bar are in the midst of a transformation to creating a Singapore dining experience.

109 Ossington – In the location where Mundial Auto Repairs (and auto sales) and a Portuguese social club used to reside, a new condominium cluster is going to arise. I have never noticed the crenelation on the top of the old social club.

Bellwoods Brewery - In the old location of Rolly’s Garage and Meta Gallery, the folks at Bellwoods Brewery have been hard at work transforming the location. We’re looking forward to sipping a pint of brew on a warm summer night on their front patio.

38-42 Ossington – This was a group of residences which seems to be vacant and has had wood scaffolding out front for the last few months. Does anyone know what’s going to appear here?