Chop Steakhouse & Bar is set to open its newest location in the Financial District in Downtown Toronto.
Chop Toronto will be located at 181 University Avenue at the corner of University and Adelaide Street. The space was home to The Merchant restaurant from 2015-2020 and a Fionn McCool prior to 2014.
The Canadian brand started in Edmonton, Alberta in 2006 and has since expanded to 17 locations from coast to coast, which includes a 2022 opening in Coal Harbour in Vancouver.
Graham Smith and Brandon Gorman from JLL represented the landlord in the transaction.
Chop Steakhouse is joining a number of new restaurants and dining options that have opened recently in the Financial District, as the area starts the journey back from a pandemic that took a huge toll on the core.
2024 is set to be a banner year for restaurant openings in Toronto, and the downtown core is standing out with the brands that are betting on an influx of return-to-office and those going into the city for events, sports and concerts.
First Canadian Place Seeing Multiple Openings
Sing Sing by hospitality group Freehouse Collective is set to debut it’s Toronto location at First Canadian Place, which Retail Insider announced back in 2023. Formerly The Donnelly Group, Freehouse Collective is a hospitality group with Restaurants, Pubs, Bars, and Nightclubs in Toronto & Vancouver.
In the same area of First Canadian Place is Edna + Vita, an apparent rebranding from Red’s. Career links for front line positions (mixologist, host, servers, etc) include a blended messaging, with Red’s interchangeable with Edna + Vita in places. We’ll follow up with this location as more information becomes available.
First Canadian Place recently saw another entertainment offering announced in Retail Insider, with the expansion news of Modern Golf. Founder Paul Fisher shared that the golf social experience “is really where the fastest growth in the sector is coming from and will come for the golf industry going forward.”
Across the street is Canada’s first Pret a Manger standalone location, which opened in January 2024.
Vancouver-based Glowbal Restaurant Group opened Black + Blue Steakhouse last year in the former home of the Toronto Stock Exchange in Exchange Tower, which is at the First Canadian Place campus. The 9,000 square-foot two-storey space also includes a 2,000 square-foot patio, which has prime street appeal with the TTC King Streetcar route.
The prime location was leased by Beauleigh Retail Consultants, who exclusively handles the leasing of the property and the Glowbal Group was represented by Mario Negris and Martin Moriarty of Marcus & Millichap in Vancouver.
Adelaide Street Continues to Attract
In addition to Edna + Vita, Adelaide will see the opening of Everyside Restaurant and Brewery. The space was vacated in 2020 with the exit of Montreal-based 3 Brasseurs.
Not much is known about Everyside, as the social media was launched in late March and describes the location as “your perfect sip of home. Brewed locally with care, our flavours are made for every moment.”
Teddy Taggart of CBRE’s Urban Retail Team represented Everyside Restaurant and Brewery for this deal.
Alobar opened at 150 York St. in 2023. The second location for the concept follows the 2018 opening in Yorkville, which is tucked along a pathway which also includes B Hemmings & Co and CNTRBND.
Alobar is part of Alo Food Group. Chef & Owner Patrick Kriss opened Alo in 2015, the Michelin starred fine-dining flagship at Queen and Spadina in downtown Toronto. Michelin recommended Aloette opened in 2017, with additions of Salon (2019), Aloette Go (2021), Alo Catering (2022) and Alder at the Ace Hotel in 2023.
LOCAL Public Eatery Adelaide opened in February 2024 at 141 Adelaide St. W., marking its fourth Ontario location (three in Toronto and one in Lansdowne in Ottawa). The restaurant concept is part of the JOEY Restaurant Group, which is set to open a flagship JOEY location at 20 King Street.
Retail Insider covered the JOEY King Street announcement in December 2023. The location is currently recruiting for all positions as it prepares for an opening this winter.
Alobar, LOCAL Public Eatery and JOEY worked with Arlin Markowitz, Alex Edmisson and Teddy Taggart of CBRE’s Urban Retail Team.
Bay Street
CKTL & Co opened at 330 Bay Street with a stock-themed bar concept, which features a fluctuating pricing structure that changes throughout the day.
Marbl will be opening its second downtown Toronto location at the Bay Adelaide North Tower. Renderings have been shared for the space, which will be aiming to open in 2024.
Retail Insider can also confirm that Estiatorio Milos will be opening a flagship restaurant at the corner of Bay and Adelaide. We will follow up with more details as they become available.
Union Station Continues to See Activity
Retail Insider announced the Liberty Entertainment Group’s newest location back in 2022, with Blue Bovine opening to great fanfare in February 2024. The opening of the 10,000 square-foot restaurant, with a 1,500 pound bronze bespoke bull adorning the entrance, is just the beginning of a busy year of activity within the transit hub.
We’ll be circling back with details as they become available, with curious transit-goers looking at a couple large areas yet to be announced.
#DESI opened its taste of India market recently, joining Hazukido across from the Foodie Aisle at Union Market. Nespresso also opened it’s new concept location, as it moved operations from it’s shop-in-shop at Hudson’s Bay Queen Street.
Purpel will be opening a new location for its acai bowls and smoothies, which will be located in the space that formerly housed Oakberry. Craig’s Cookies, Venezolano, Taco Bell and Cinnaholic will also be opening in the near future at Union Station, with the Cinnaholic construction hoarding being removed last week to showcase what’s in store for travellers.
Toronto based Beauleigh Retail Consultants has been working with Osmington through the creative process to conceptualize and implement and execute on the retail vision and strategy for Union Station, throughout this redevelopment.
Louis Bon Bon recently opened at Royal Bank Plaza, just across the TTC Union Station concourse. The space was most recently The Body Shop, which shuttered during the pandemic. Also opening at Royal Bank Plaza will be a relocated Starbucks, which has secured a space next to Brooks Brothers, leaving its prior space at the entrance to Union Station available for lease.
Table Fare + Social at CIBC Square opened its 40,000 square foot food hall at the end of 2023. The location is set to continue expansion, with a number of new stalls and a flagship restaurant set to open.
Yonge Street Rebounds
33 Yonge Street has started the transformation which was announced back in 2023 in Retail Insider.
The first new tenant in the building opened recently, being The Joneses by Oliver & Bonacini. Cafe Landwer, which is taking over the former Fran’s location, is in full construction build-out mode. Oliver & Bonacini Cafe Grill and Biff’s both shuttered earlier this year to make way for the revamped concepts to join the property, which includes Osteria Giulia and a re-imagined Biff’s.
Retail Insider will be following the transformation on this project closely and will report on any new announcements.
Moving up Yonge Street from the Hockey Hall of Fame, the Hotel Victoria recently opened a social house called “Mossop’s“, which opened in October of 2023.
The space opened as part of a renovation and will appeal to crowds from a section of the neighbourhood that is still in transition from pandemic closures.
The Irish Embassy has yet to reopen, with the most recent social post being from March 2021 and a temporarily closed notice on Google with no reopening notice on the website.
In addition, a number of retail spaces in the blocks from Yonge at Front to King have stayed vacated for years. Staples consolidated both Yonge Street and Corktown into a single location at Richmond and Parliament. Rexall shuttered both the Yonge at Wellington and Yonge at Gerrard locations, with both still available for sublease. The vacated Marche/Richtree at Brookfield Place continues to look for a permanent tenant, as the space has most recently been used for pop-up touring exhibitions.
Just north of Yonge at King, which has recently seen a new Mad Radish open, along with soon-to-re-open Starbucks, there is another recent opening.
French fine dining restaurant Lucie opened in 2023 at 100 Yonge Street. Paying homage to owner Yannick Bigourdan’s late Grandmother, the 4,000 square-foot concept is just the latest in the career of highlights. From Nota Bene to The Carbon Bar and bringing Union Chicken and Mike’s Smash Burger to market with a partnership at Open Concept Hospitality, he sold his interests in the concepts in 2023 to acquire full control of Amano Trattoria, alongside Mike Angeloni and Adam Teolis.
The restaurant took over a former long-standing restaurant called ‘CRU’, which shuttered in 2021.
Kinton Ramen is set to open a Kinton Ramen Express in the former A&W location, just south of Yonge and Richmond at 140 Yonge Street.
The location is across the street from a brand new Greenbox, which opened in the space that was home to Tractor, a farm to table concept that opened in summer 2018 and shuttered during the pandemic in 2021.
Turkish cafe and bakery Mado recently opened at 144 Yonge Street, taking over for Walking on a Cloud shoe store, which had been at that location for more than 20 years and relocated south across from One King West.
La Mouette opened on the second floor at 144 Yonge, in what the brand described as a “culinary haven where sophistication meets Toronto charm. La Mouette invites you on a gastronomic journey inspired by the rich traditions of international cuisine.”
Neighbourhood Destinations Continue to Grow
The Financial District borders a number of Business Improvement Associations, including the Entertainment District, St Lawrence Market Neighbourhood, The Waterfront and Downtown Yonge. Each district has its own influx of openings, which is poised to see an uptick in leasing activity for comparable commercial spaces as foot traffic will grow into the summer and fall.
In the Enterainment District, just across University Avenue from Chop Steakhouse, is Mott32 at the Shangri-La Toronto. Mott32 recently had a job fair for its new restaurant at the Shangri-La Hotel Toronto and will be opening in the foreseeable future, taking over for Momofuku after the David Chang restaurant shut its doors in 2022.
Nobu at 30 Mercer Street is set to open this year, alongside Fogo de Chão, which are set for openings in 2024/2025. Renderings have been released for Fogo de Chão’s upcoming Toronto location at Blue Jays Way and Mercer Street.
The Waterfront saw a number of highlights, including the opening of NBA Courtside and Second City at One York.
Downtown Yonge will be seeing a number of new entrants, including The Tenor’s upcoming slate of Shack Shack, The Ballroom Bowl and Hard Rock Cafe. The CF Toronto Eaton Centre saw Milestones take over the operations of the mall’s Hendricks restaurant. Banh Mi Boys moved from the corner of Yonge & Gerrard to the former home of Silver Snail Comics on the second floor of 329 Yonge Street, above Five Guys Burger and Fries.
The St. Lawrence Market area will see The Berczy Tavern replace the recently closed Le Papillon on Front.
“We are the proud owners of the highly acclaimed Amano Trattoria and Bar Notte in Toronto,” shared the brand online. “As hands-on operators with a track record of success, we’re excited to announce our latest venture: The Berczy Tavern. Positioned in the heart of Old Town Toronto at Church and Front Streets, The Berczy is set to redefine the casual fine dining experience, blending contemporary Canadian/American cuisine with Mediterranean influences. With plans for a comprehensive cocktail program, extensive wine list, and a vibrant piano bar, The Berczy is poised for a grand opening in June and aims to become a cornerstone in Toronto’s dining scene.”
The area will also be seeing a number of new offerings, as leasing activity ramps up in the neighbourhood as condo developments like Time and Space at Front & Sherbourne are in the final stages of construction.
We’ll continue to report on new additions to the Financial District, as leasing activity will continue to be active as the downtown core looks to the future with consumer demands, economic shifts and the Ontario Line subway, which will impact the centre of the city for the next seven to 10 years.
