Openings & Closings in Toronto

Long-time College Street neighbours Ciao Edie and Andy Poolhall will be united at last. In mid-September, the two bars (same ownership) will become one as the wall dividing the two is removed thus merging the spaces into a 500 capacity club complete with ten unisex toilets (thank God, Andy’s was one of the few places where the men’s room line is longer than the women’s). Ciao Edie will remain open for most of the summer, but Andy’s will be closed starting August 6th, 2007. I’ve always enjoyed the “everyone is welcome to do there thing” vibe at Andy Poolhall, and I hope the Friday night Synchro open format sessions with Denise Benson & friends continue.

The re-building continues on the much-derided yet iconic Sassafraz in Yorkville, which burned down last December. Sassafraz went on for years as the centre of Yorkville, cruising along more on the constant flow of celebrities more than the quality food and drinks. Essentially seen as a “star-f*cker” of a restaurant, there was much schadenfreude when it burned to the ground. And, like the career of Sharon Stone, it just won’t die. Amusingly the owners Zoran and Vasko Kocovski say that "We hear you, Toronto," and seem to have a sense of humour. They've taken the comments and criticisms from various Toronto blogs and quoted both the good and the bad on their walls. Now whether they take that criticism and improve their business remains to be seen. Sassafraz is aiming to re-open in early September, in order to coincide with the Toronto Film Festival.

The Sparrow on Ossington shut down.

Ever wondered why the massive space formerly home to Lucid nightclub on John St. has been closed so long? The new club owners are mired in lawsuits with partners. The space is massive, and was originally built to house Sony Playdium. I can’t imagine how much money you’d have to be raking in to turn a profit – the overhead must be enormous. The new owners have been working for more than a year on the space, which is to be reborn as Circa. Now, for the umpteenth time, they’ve announced Circa will open this summer. I remain skeptical.

Most of the scoops via Martiniboys.com