This year brought a lot of new businesses and faces to Ossington, all of which we welcomed, and many of which we covered. We look forward to frequenting many new shops, galleries, restaurants and more to the strip in the year ahead.

Let’s start with February 2010 – Angell Gallery moved from Queen Street West onto Dundas. Angell took over the space of Lennox Contemporary in February 2010, and has hosted a plethora of exhibits ever since.

There was a bustle of activity and then Bohmer launched in March 2010. The beautiful space and delicious food has led more people to Toronto’s new “Restaurant Row.”  March also saw the opening of “Oz Boutique,” an art and design hub which has housed Evan Biddell’s clothing line, but focuses on photographer Joe Fuda’s work and curated exhibits.

We started April with City Store Grocery opening on Dundas, and Crepes and More on Ossington. 8 months later, both are still open and catering to the daytime crowd in our area. That month’s other opening was the weekend-only bar, OurHouse.

May brought pop-ups to Ossington with the short-lived but fun launch of 1st Run Art Gallery, which featured the work of it’s creators. In June, LAB Consignment opened with a splash, sharing space with Silver Falls Vintage on Ossington near Queen. In other just as popular fashion news, TOPSHOP came to Toronto by way of London, and opened within Jonathan + Olivia’s space.

The lazy days of summer were anything but for entrepreneurs on Ossington when several businesses opened their doors, starting with Crafted by Te Aro, a coffee shop from Leslieville branching out. Another import from within Toronto was Goed Eten, which started serving coffee, waffles, poutine and more this July.

For a very short time this summer, Salt opened, then closed. Now it is finally open again for good, serving Portuguese wines and tapas.

This fall we supported the opening of Beau Lieu Bistro at 59 Ossington and also Telegramme Prints and Framing at 194 Ossington. O’born Contemporary is also a new gallery to the strip.

We don’t want to forget all the new openings on Dundas (part of that “Ossington triangle” mentioned earlier) that we covered a couple of months ago about Dundas’ evolution: Bunda Lounge, Churchill, Brockton General, Academy of Lions, Port, and Enoteca Sociale.

Finally, let’s look forward to the continuing growth with new places set to open soon: Pasta and More, Fish Bar, Lakeview Convenience and The Saint are the ones we know about, but we’re sure there’ll be more. Here’s to a happy and healthy Ossington Village in 2011.

PostCity.com seems to have the scoop that the Ossington moratorium has been lifted.  This story claims that’s the reason for the re-opening of Salt Wine Bar, scheduled for tonight.

This is the only source of this information, and they were unable to get confirmation from City Hall, so we will continue to pursue the news, and update here when we can. In the meantime, head out to dinner on Ossington. It’s been an uphill battle, and hopefully this means it’s over.

UPDATE: Today’s blogTO and Torontoist are confirming reports that the ban on new restaurants on Ossington was lifted on the weekend. Funny how the same way this whole mess started (without consulting the public) is how it ended (no public notice). Now that Joe Pantalone is no longer our city councillor, we hope for more communication with our local council.

Churchill looks to be open already or is very close to opening.

Located on Dundas and Lakeview (1212 Dundas), which previously housed If Lounge, Churchill looks like a bar. I didn’t see a menu posted, so don’t know much else. This is a spot with a very cute outside patio, but as they are verging on a residential street, they have to be sure to keep the peace with the neighbors.

This evening I spotted a sign for a new place where Viva Hair used to  be at 121 Ossington, called “More Than Pasta.” Their website suggests it may be a retail location for  gourmet foods, featuring healthier pastas. I can’t say for sure, but will keep you posted.

They have spent 8 months getting the place ready and getting all their licenses and approvals (Yes, they are licensed!), and the space is very cozy and charming, just like the staff. The menu is full of French classics, like French Onion soup, escargot and Nicoise salad apps, and Coquille St. Jacques and veal sweetbreads among the entrees.  The wine list is also mostly French classics. If you want to ask questions or make a reservation, their number is 647-345-5525.

The menu also includes freshly made desserts, and they looked amazing (see for yourself!) The desserts tonight were all fruit based, with a berry tart, an apple, and a lemon tart. How will I choose?

Unfortunately, I could not sample anything tonight, but when I do, I’ll let you know. Please let us know when you try Beau Lieu Bistro yourselves.

The menu is tapas, some cheeses and charcuterie, of assorted price points which were quite reasonable. From the homemade chips they put on the table soon after we sat down, to the cheese we ended our meal with (a Quebecois Blue and Parmesan Reggiano), every item we tried was fresh and flavourful. We have some photos, so you can see the presentation. We recommend trying for yourself!

Appetizer

More Tapas

The wine list is mainly Portuguese, with a few Spanish and Italian wines to round it out. We like the idea that they are serving Portuguese food and wines with a more updated twist than the other Portuguese spots in the neighborhood.

There is a bar in the front when you walk in, and then what look like bookshelves covering the walls, but they are full of bottles of wine, vinegars, oils, bags of salt and rice, etc. The back wall even has jars of preserves with the Salt label on them. It’s a dimly lit, comfortable atmosphere. The staff is also really gracious, and very helpful when we had questions about the wine list. We have a feeling we’re going to be more educated about Portuguese wines very quickly!

It took a long time for Salt Wine Bar to open, but it’s here, so let’s enjoy it! We’ll be back.

It was one year ago that Joe Pantalone, our current mayoral candidate, annoyed me so much by blocking new restaurant openings on Ossington without consultation from the neighbours that I went home and started writing.

90 Posts later we are still going – and an example of Hyper-local blogging.

A lot has happened this year on Ossington.

• The opening of Bohmer, Paramour and Union restaurants.
• The launch of City Store, Crepes & More & Our House.
• Evan Bidell, of Project Runway Canada fame, showed his wares in the location next to Reposado.
• Angell Gallery moved up from Queen Street.
• There were the closings of Bar au Soup, Get Real, Rolly’s Garage and the final demise of the never-opened The Saint.
• Pizzeria Libretto not only got certified by VPN, but also got named by En Route Magazine as a Best restaurant of 2008

We launched our Twitter account only 2 months ago and are keeping the neighbourhood up to date with our shorter updates. Follow us on Twitter here.

We thought we’d celebrate with a new look! The fantastic graphic design of Ananuku Kolar and Better Art Design & Direction put together our first logo, and I spent a beautiful May afternoon in the backyard putting together a new format for the blog. It will continue to evolve and grow as will the neighbourhood.

We’ve had a great time getting to know all our neighbours in Ossington Village and hearing from you our readers. We appreciate everyone who commented and sent us feedback – even if we disagreed.

We love the way this neighbourhood keeps changing and love documenting the evolution of Ossington Village. Keep commenting, sending us feedback, story ideas, and other happenings in the area.

 According to recent reports, Paul Boehmer’s long-awaited restaurant at 95 Ossington is set to have a grand-opening party tomorrow night. Doors should be open to the public this Saturday.

We can’t wait to see and taste the results!

They have an interview with Chef Boehmer and discuss his menu and the layout of his restaurant, which he plans to open this month. Additionally, there is more info on the retail space next door, which, he says, will feature prepared meals, cheese, meats, sauces and vinagrettes, all prepared by him and other local chefs. Sounds like they’ll be filling a void on our strip!

Not as much space is devoted to Salt, but they do mention it will be opening it’s doors any minute, just like we said!

Boehmer has a great sense of where Ossington fits in Toronto’s culinary scene, and where he fits on Ossington. I’ll take his quote from the article, “Everyone has their own niche, so there’s no competition. This is the street for food, and there isn’t another place like this in the city.”

A few sources mentioned the soft opening of  Bohmer last week during the Interior Design show. We peeked in on the weekend, and the space looks large and luxe. Some art on the walls made us think it was a gallery at first, but then we saw the bar. Don’t know when it’s opening, so if you do, please tip us off!

Second thing we noticed, a little north from there, was an awning is out for Salt, next to Libretto. Signs were up last summer noting an early fall launch, which never materialized. A wine bar with small plates, meats and cheeses? We were really upset when it looked like it wasn’t happening. Now it looks like it is! According to an article last year in Martini Boys (PR dreams, but they’re right sometimes!), Salt should open in February. Have you seen today’s date? February is this weekend! So, keep us posted and we’ll do the same for you.

More rumours: a grocery store maybe opening soon on Ossington?

More truths: one art gallery closes, another moves in. More to come.