I know this is a few weeks too late but earlier last month Le Pain Quotidien had declared bankruptcy in Canada and closed all their locations. Most of the Le Pain Quotidien Canadian website links I could find on google to their website just forwarded back to the general .com website with links to their global chains (with Canada excluded). Although it was some what pricey, I gave it a generally positive review about a year and a half ago, and I’m sad to see it go.
Yikes! I just arrived back from my trip to Montreal to attend Congress (with a full review of VIA’s Business class food coming up soon) to find out that one of my favorite to-go lunch spots near Bloor and Yonge, Le Gourmand Cafe, has been shut down.
There’s a small letter attached to their salad bar fridge which states that the landlord has shut them down due to defaulting on their lease agreement. It’s funny because Le Gourmand is known among my peers for always having a lineup and they would run out of food by 3pm. Now where will I get some of that yummy curry apple salad? Le sigh..
Groundhog Pub courtesy of Google Maps
The Groundhog (Pub) saw its shadow and burrowed back down into the hole, permanently. The Pub, which sat on the north east edge of St. James Town on Bloor St, has closed their doors last Friday. The pub used to be the place to hang out after work for my colleagues, who are now going to have to find a new watering hole. The owners of The Groundhog are opening up a new pub at Jarvis and Wellesley, which hopefully won’t leave all of the staff jobless.
I’m curious as to what will take over the spot, as that corner already has a Tim Horton’s and a Subway (our top two on the number of ‘chains around the city’ list). I wouldn’t be surprised if a Starbucks happens to open even though there’s already a busy one nearby at Jarvis and Bloor.