The Bloordale Times Vol. 1 Issue 1 // Feb. 2013

http://www.facebook.com/bloordaletimesFEBRUARY 2013 VOLUME 1 ISSUE 1

Neighbourhood news worth repeating

BY MELISSA [email protected]

Over the past couple of years, transit riders may have noticed some changes in and around TTC’s Dufferin Station, located at 1126 Bloor St. W.. These enhance-ments, both the subtle and the ap-parent, are all part of a much larg-er Station Modernization project ramping up this coming year.

The biggest enhancement cur-rently seen from Bloor St. is the new construction of a west-end station exit at Russett Ave. Pas-sengers from east-bound trains will eventually be able to find

their way out through here, while up to the laneway north of Bloor St., an additional exit on Russett Ave. will be added to accommo-date departures from west-bound trains. Both exits are due to be op-erational by this summer.

Other outside projects already completed include a widened bus thoroughfare to accommodate two passing busses, and a canopy over the east entrance to shelter waiting bus passengers. All of these improvements will signifi-cantly improve the increased flow of riders in and out of the station.

Since the opening of the Bloor-Danforth subway transit line in

1966, Dufferin Station, has been a central transportation hub for Torontonians, specifically the residents of the Bloordale com-munity.

According to TTC’s Senior Community Liaison Officer Devin Horne, Dufferin is among the busier stops on the Bloor-Danforth line.

“In 2011, an estimated 40,000 people rode the 29 Dufferin bus. It’s one of the top five busiest bus routes in the entire system,” he said.

While this figure doesn’t paint an entire picture of traffic at Duf-ferin Station, as there is currently

no way of tracking which passen-gers transfer directly to and from the underground system, it may be assumed that many of those 29 Dufferin travellers are among the 25,000-plus subway riders who go through the station’s turnstile daily.

Inside the station, accessibility will be the primary focus, with a number of projects commenc-ing this year. As stated on TTC’s website, with only less than half of major stations accessible for wheelchairs, scooters and stroll-ers, Toronto’s system has been...

see WARD 18 page 2

INSIDECASINO DEBATE STILL

LINGERING IN TORONTOA community update on the

city’s red hot topic Page 3

WHIPPOORWILL NESTLES IN BLOORDALE

New restaurant pub opens where Bloordale Pantry used to sit

Page 7

DUFFY’S TAVERN GIVEN A SHAKE UP

The tavern gets a facelift with a little help from show business

Page 6

WARD 18 SET FOR CHANGE

THIS YEARSeveral community projects are slated for an upgrade in 2013

BY JUSTIN [email protected]

Between what was revealed in the City of Toronto’s 2013 budget a few weeks ago and the projects al-ready underway, Ward 18 will see some significant changes this year.

Parks, roads, a subway station and library are a few big projects slated for upgrade in 2013.

Councillor Ana Bailão held a meeting on Jan. 9 at the New Ho-rizon Tower (1140 Bloor. St. W.) in part to give the community a better understanding of how city dollars will be spent this year in relation to Ward 18’s boundaries.

“[The 2013 budget] is going to bring significant improvements to Ward 18,” said Bailão following the meeting.

Perhaps one of the biggest proj-ects is the Bloor St. W. resurfacing plan which is expected to start this spring and be completed in late fall of this year.

From Bathurst St. to Lansdowne Ave., major improvements to...

DUFFERIN STATIONCONSTRUCTION UPDATESee our Facebook page for renderings

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see DUFFERIN STATION page 10

02

News

The Bloordale Times February 2013

BY KATE [email protected]

Many Brockton Village neighbours will be lacing up their skates over the next few days as flooding of a new community skating rink gets underway.

“It’s about community building and pro-viding services for people, and really to get people to think about providing services for ourselves,” said Jennifer Cypher, a member of Friends of McCormick Park, the group that’s spearheading the project.

This will be the second attempt to turn the baseball diamond at McCormick Park, which is located just south of Dundas St. W., between Brock Ave. and Sheridan Ave., into a skating rink after a month of on-again-off-again cold

weather. The group initially flooded the rink just after Christmas, but the ice melted just a few days later.

“You kind of need three weeks of cold weather because really you should let it sit for a week and let the ground freeze and flood for a week,” Cypher said. “It’s really dependent on the weather.”

Cypher said the rink, an idea was conceived months ago, was one that the group thought could really fill a need in the community.

“Our neighbourhood has a large diver-sity of age groups and we’re finding that kids sort of six and up are not well-served by the services that we have in the park,” she said. “There’s no organized winter activities and we thought the park wasn’t being used as much as it could be and that this would be a way to get people out.”

Neighbours told Cypher the park, which is attached to an indoor arena and a recreation centre, used to be turned into a rink in the winter that 15 or 20 years ago, but this is the first time in years that the community has taken it on.

Though there are no regular activities or a set schedule for the rink, Friends of Mc-Cormick Park is hoping to host a couple of events to get the community out of winter hibernation.

“We’ve been talking about having a do-it-yourself curling event, things like that, but really it’s dependent on the weather, so we need a good, long cold snap before we can do that,” she said.

But she said it’s really up to those in the community to make things happen.

“I can make suggestions and organize

things but it’s really up to people to decide what they want to do,” Cypher said.

Cypher said a rink isn’t the only thing that was born from this project – a sense of own-ership and a commitment to improving the community came with it, too.

“Just the project itself – like having to orga-nize and communicate with your neighbours and do something together – builds commu-nity in a way that you can’t do unless you have a project like this,” Cypher said. “It provides something for everyone, people of all ages to do together outside in the winter and it uses the park in a different way than it has been used.”

Part of the community aspect is working with the City of Toronto and which Cypher said for Ward 18 isn’t difficult to do. A repre-sentative from Councillor Ana Bailao’s office comes to all of the group’s meetings.

“We have a really good working relation-ship with her office, we were able to coordi-nate this and we were able to get hoses and things like that,” Cypher said.

Ana Bailao, the councilor for Ward 18, said projects like these spur community engage-

ment, a healthy lifestyle and safety in the neighbourhood.

“I’m very fortunate to have residents that are willing to come forward and contribute to the vitality of our parks,” she said. “We’ve been working very closely with residents at McCormick Park to help them to make the park more vibrant.”

The project didn’t cost Friends of McCor-mick Park or anyone else in Ward 18 a dime – the brunt of the work was done by a dedicated team of volunteers and the City of Toronto supplied them with the tools.

“The city facilitates the water, the hose and so on – but the residents are actually the ones that flood and maintain it and it’s been very successful,” Bailao said.

It’s always hard to get people outside in the winter, and Bailao said the rink is a great opportunity for family and friends to spend time together outdoors.

“It creates another activity in our commu-nity free of charge for people,” she said.

“It’s really exciting – these are the activities that make my job very rewarding at the end of the day,” Bailao said.

NEW RINK AT MCCORMICK PARK TO BRING COMMUNITY TOGETHER

...Bloor St.’s roads and overall streetscape will be completed. Some of the plans in-clude, additional seating areas, removal of “tree boxes”, improved overall façade, com-munity message boards and additional bike parking rings, Bailão revealed.

Mentioned in the City’s budget plan was a rather large initiative to improve Ward 18 parks in the short term. Many of the ward’s parks will see improvements to its pathways, greenery and wheelchair accessibility ac-cording to Bailão.

What’s more, Wallace-Emerson Park will eventually see a $2.5 million upgrade which will be put towards its community centre’s roof among other improvements yet to be determined concretely. According to Bailão’s Autumn/Winter Update 2012 print, “lo-cal environmental organization Greenhere has begun a visioning process [for Wallace-Emerson Park] that will provide valuable insight to the residents’ needs in the future.”

In part of a large, city-wide plan to improve many of the Toronto’s Subway stations, the

neighbourhood’s Dufferin station is in the midst of an upgrade that will extend into 2013 (for more information, see front page story by Melissa Millerson). In short, upon completion – targeted for the summer of 2014 – some improvements will include, full station accessibility, enhanced station appearance, new exits, improved waiting area and additional bicycle parking.

Now listed in City’s capital budget plan, the Perth/Dupont library expansion proj-ect could also see some significant prog-ress this year. The expansion project has already received $1.1 million in section 37 money (Section 37 – an act that per-mits the City to authorize increases in permitted height and/or density through the zoning bylaw in return for community benefits). In addition, Bailão has brought the project to the attention of the Toronto Public Library Board.

“The reality is we are working on the project, it’s a three million dollar project,” Bailão said. “[The expansion] will more than double the space...and make it wheel-chair accessible.”

WARD 18 from page 1

Members of the Friends of McCormick Park group and the City of Toronto recently came together to build an ice rink in hopes of fulfilling a neighbourhood need

Photo courtesy Friends of McCormick Park

“Everything was salvaged from deep sea wrecks,” said Jess Paehlke owner of Ransack the Universe (1207 Bloor St. W.) as he peers through the side of his glasses play-fully with the twist of a smile tug-ging at the sides of his mustache.

This thrift shop has popped it’s head up from it’s basement furnish-ings to dwell on the ground floor where the Vintage 69 thrift clothing store once was.

“So far we’ve had an incredible turn out response. The visibility is a big thing and I think people are very curious to see something new. Local people especially, they see something going on in the window and they want to check it out,” said Paehlke. “We’ve been very busy and it’s only been three weeks.”

Ransack the Universe had been in the basement for three years making it difficult for the store to let people know they were around. Through three years of flyering, words of mouth advertising and sheer grit, the store started to pull its weight.

Moving to the upper floor means bigger rent said Paehlke, but the hope is that the store

comes into it’s own and expands it’s clientele to become sustainable.

The shop specializes in arts, crafts and vintage goods. The walls are teaming with vintage posters and products dotted with pieces made by the hands of local artists.

“I think we’re a little bit different from the other stores that are on the strip,” said business partner Michelle Bemister. “I think we’ve got better stuff than let’s say Salvation Army or Value Village. I think people can find

stuff that they could maybe find on Queen street, but at a better cost.”

Bemister is hoping the little shop can spread it’s wings a little more with the space and exposure a ground floor shop brings.

“I think moving to the main floor might open it up to a lot more people finding us,” she said. “ We had trou-ble in the basement because we were limited to the amount of people that

could come down.”Paehlke said he had looked

around at other places when he first decided to set up shop but settled on Bloordale because of it’s cheap rents

and ideal shopping culture.“We’re right on the subway and it

is a funky area and people come here specifically to go vintage shopping. It’s a big draw,” he said.

03

News

The Bloordale Times February 2013

RANSACK THE UNIVERSE OWNER MAKES HIS MOVE UPSTARIS

Ransack the Universe owner Jess Pahlke now sits on the ground floor of his 1207 Bloor St. W. location. Photos by Khris Reardon

After spending an extended period of time in the basement of 1207 Bloor St. W, local thrift shop owner expands his business by packing his things and moving upstairs

BY KHRIS [email protected]

BY MELISSA [email protected]

With the January consultations and public questionnaire wrapped up, Torontonians await what the general consensus of residents re-ally was, with the release of the City Manager’s report in March 2013.

City sponsored public consul-tations were held at five locations within the month of January, and all residents were urged to have their voice heard, via paper or elec-tronic questionnaire.

Questions appeared largely fo-cused on location preference of the future casino, identifying the four possible candidates as Portlands, Exhibition Place, Downtown and Woodbine. However, other ques-tions covered public desire to host a casino at all, specific areas of con-cern, as well as section for open opinion.

Throughout the process, two

greatly divided sides have been in the public eye.

The Toronto Taxpayers Coali-tion, a local advocacy group fo-cused on city spending, announced their support for a full casino en-tertainment complex on Jan. 6, 2013. The Coalition also added their proposal of possible multiple revenue sources be put forward to-ward expanding the transit system.

“We have three sources of rev-enue available to the City of Toron-to,” said Coalition President Matt McGuire. “Not only do we have property taxes, but hosting fees, licensed gaming tables and online gaming revenue streams.”

McGuire believes that this “Transit Funding Trifecta” can bring up to $400-million annually for the city. When asked about the social impacts brought by such a facility, McGuire stated, “OLG is going to build a casino as close to the city as possible, if not in the

city. Whether a casino is built in-side or just outside of Toronto, the negative social impacts will still live in Toronto.”

On the other side of the table, the No Casino Toronto advocacy group has been gaining momen-tum and supporters. With well over 5,000 Facebook followers and a long list of anti-casino facts post-ed on their website, the No Casino Toronto group is a leading voice for those residents opposed to the facility. While we were unable to reach co-founder Maureen Lynett due to scheduling conflicts, their website indicates many residents are opposed to the idea of a gaming facility within the city, citing from the City of Toronto’s webpage that 70.6 per cent of Torontonians were opposed to a casino during the City Casino Referendum in 1997.

According to the Torstar News Service, a survey of Toronto City councillors in late January showed

that the facts and warnings brought forth by the No Casino Toronto group is making more of an im-pression than the city revenue promises of the Toronto Taxpayers

Coalition. While acknowledging the potential of increased jobs and city revenue, Ward 18 Councillor Ana Bailão still isn’t convinced that a casino is right for Toronto.

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Just like mothers and fathers have their own days to celebrate their role in the family unit, broth-ers and sisters should be recog-nized, Daniel Masih said.

Masih is pushing for Brother-Sister Day to be official in Toron-to and Brampton. The day, also known as Raksha Bandhan Day, is a traditional Hindu festival. On that day, a girl ties a coloured string, called a rakhi, around her brother’s wrist, and the brother in

return will give his sister a pres-ent. The rakhi, and the presents, are symbols of protection and love between the siblings.

Masih said the tradition is based on a story about women tying strings around their husbands’ arms before they went out to battle

as a good luck gesture. It has since evolved to focus on relationships between siblings and cousins.

“It could actually mend broken fences between brothers and sis-ters, bring them together if they’re having any problems,” Masih, who lives near High Park and Bloordale said.

He said he has high hopes for the event, but mainly wants to share this tradition that he has par-ticipated in since he was young. He

was born in Toronto, but learned about Raksha Bandhan Day from his Indian-born parents.

Right now, his mission is to get Raksha Bandhan Day recognized as an official event. He said he’s been told that goal is close to being recognized in Brampton, though he’s still working on Toronto. Ma-sih has support from Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Canada and the Boys and Girls Club in Toronto.

The event, he said, is non-reli-gious and non-political.

“It’s a way of sharing the tradi-tions and culture from the south Asian culture and spreading them to whatever background or what-ever culture you’re coming from,” said Masih.

If it is made official in Toronto, his first move is to promote the day that occurs this year on Aug. 21, at the South Asian Festival in Little India on the first weekend in July. He’s working on getting local fash-ion designers to make their own unique rakhi strings to give away at the event.

“What I’m trying to do is raise the awareness that we are all broth-ers and sisters, so it doesn’t matter what culture you’re from, or what religion you’re from,” he said.

“I’d like this day to actually be-come somewhat of a global village kind of scenario where someone from another culture would wear the string and once you see it and recognize it, you would know they believe in the same aspects of pro-tection and love.”

For more information, go to http://www.rakshabandhanday.com or http://www.brother-sister-day.com. Find Raksha Bandhan Day on Facebook, or follow Rak-shaBandhan_ on Twitter.

04

News

The BloordaleTimes February 2013

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LOCAL RESIDENT LOOKS TO START NEW DAY OF RECOGNITION IN TORONTO AND BEYOND

Daniel Masih has a bracelet tied around his wrist, a sign of love and respect. Photo courtesy Daniel Masih

BY AMBER [email protected]

MPP JONAH SCHEIN416-535-3158

Since Dalton McGuinty shut down the legislature last October, I have taken the opportunity to spend even more time in Davenport, to meet with you and hear your ideas, priorities and concerns. I’ve heard clearly that public transit, access to high quality public services, and good-paying jobs remain priority issues for people in our community.

Now, after a long, forced break while the government prorogued provincial parlia-ment, I’m eager to return to the Ontario Legislature to represent you at Queen’s Park.

I’d like to take this opportunity to con-gratulate Ontario’s new Premier, Kathleen Wynne.

The NDP will continue to try to make this minority government work in Ontario, and we look forward to working with Ms. Wynne

and her government to get results for the people of Ontario.

We have a lot of work ahead of us. Ontar-io is going through very difficult times – we continue to feel the impacts of the global economic crisis, but we’re also paying the price for poor decisions and scandals of the government here at home. I know that we can do better.

I’m optimistic that Andrea Horwath can work with the new premier to turn things around.

In recent weeks, Andrea has set out some of our priorities for the upcoming session at Queen’s Park. We want to move forward with social assistance reform starting with new exemptions that allow recipients to keep more of their employment income. We’ve asked for a homecare guarantee that ensures seniors receive care within five days. We’ve proposed incentives for businesses to train and hire young people.

We’ll continue to advocate for fairer ways to balance the budget, starting by closing tax loopholes for big corporations that will cost the treasury over $1 billion each year by the time the Budget is balanced.

And I’ll continue to advocate for other is-sues that matter to you, like clean trains to the airport, a provincial cycling strategy, and food policy that feeds kids and supports On-tario farmers.

I’m hopeful that the new Premier under-stands that after nine years of government, people are tired of the same old politics. I hope that she is willing to listen to new ideas and work with the NDP to make this minor-ity government work.

As always, I invite you to contact my office to share your feedback and priorities for the coming session at Queen’s Park. Please feel free to call my office at 416-535-3158 or send me an email at [email protected]

COUNCILLOR ANA BAILÃO 416-392-7012

Dear Neighbours,If you are a home owner in

the City of Toronto, you have likely received a Municipal Property Assessment Notice for your property.

This notice is issued by the Provincial Government and re-flects the current value assess-ment recorded for your prop-erty, and is an estimate of the amount this property would sell for in an open market at the time of the valuation.

Due to significant revitaliza-tion in our community over recent years, our area is facing the largest average assessment growth of any neighbourhood across Toronto. For this reason, I have organized a townhall on February 23, 2013, to explain this process and provide assis-

tance should you wish to appeal your as-sessment.

There are a number of factors used to de-termine the value of a residential property, including location, lot size, age of building and quality of construction. Other resi-dential property features such as the num-ber of bathrooms, a finished basement, fireplaces, garages and pools are also used.

While your property valuation is used to calculate your property taxes, it is im-portant to remember that an increase in a property’s assessed value does not mean that property taxes will be increased in the same proportion. Each year, when prop-erty values increase, the City is required by law to reduce its tax rates so that the amount of property taxes collected re-mains the same – the reassessment does not generate any additional revenue for the City.

This means that if a residential property has increased in value at the same rate as the average increase for all other residen-tial properties within the municipality, there is no increase in property taxes aris-ing from the reassessment. Properties that

have appreciated at a rate that is higher than the average for the municipality will experience an increase in taxes, whereas a property which appreciates at a rate less than the average will experience a decrease in taxes.

While Property owners should expect that the value of their property will in-crease over time, it is possible that your as-sessment is incorrect. If you do not agree with your assessment, or feel it is too high, you can file a Request for Reconsideration to have your property reassessed. I would also like to remind everyone that the dead-line to file a Request for Reconsideration is March 31, 2013.

I welcome you to my upcoming townhall on MPAC, where I will have presentations about this process and how to properly file a Request for Reconsideration. It will be held on February 23, 2013 at New Hori-zon’s on Bloor Street from 1-3pm.

Additionally, my office is pleased to be scheduling a follow-up session to this townhall in on March 2nd, in order to as-sist residents one-on-one with their Re-quest for Reconsideration applications.

MP ANDREW CASH 416-654-8048

The end of January marks the beginning of a new session of Parliament in Ottawa, and with that comes the opportunity for the priorities and concerns of the Davenport com-munity to be heard by the Government in the House of Commons. It is an hon-our to serve you as your Member of Parliament and your voice in Ottawa.

Last year in the House I focused on the issues you have told me are impor-tant: standing up for the rights of seniors; fighting for fairness for the part-time, self-employed, free-lance and contract work-ers; advocating for clean trains in our community; working with you on a suc-cessful campaign to keep a full service Canada Post lo-cation in our community;

promoting our vibrant arts and culture sector and speaking out on unfair “pay-to-pay” fees on utilities and other bills.

I continue, along with the entire NDP caucus of the Official Opposition and our leader Tom Mulcair, to hold the Conservative government to account over their unfair immigration rules that make family reunification and refugee settlement more difficult and their attempts to weaken regulations that protect our environment and our health and safety.

I’d like to thank all community organizations, non-profit groups, small businesses and volunteers who work tirelessly to make our neighbourhood a better place to live. I look forward to continue working with all of you again this year to build a stronger, fairer and more vibrant Davenport community.

If you require any assistance with any issue this year, please don’t hesitate to contact my office at 416-654-8048 or [email protected].

05

Letters from your political representatives

The Bloordale Times February 2013

06

News

The Bloordale Times February 2013

BY AMBER [email protected]

Ask Harrison Mazis what the best part of participating in the reality show Restaurant Takeover is and he’ll say, “the bathrooms.”

That was the first thing he said when asked about the experience.

“Have you seen the bathrooms yet? No – no questions – go look at the bathrooms.”

And impressive they are. Sleek, white tiled and modern, they are

the place patrons spend ten minutes too long in, taking pictures and discussing the live music upstairs. Before and after pic-tures of those washrooms tell the story of the transformation Duffy’s Tavern (1238 Bloor St. W.) has been through.

The tavern has been in the same spot, at the corner of Bloor and Margueretta, for almost 65 years. When Harrison became its owner five years ago, he said it had a bit of a reputation.

“There’s a stigma over Duffy’s tavern; it was arguably one of the worst pubs in the city of Toronto before I took it over,” he said. “I think I’ve changed it a lot. It’s no longer that pub and the area’s no longer that area.”

It’s especially changed now. Last year, Harrison received a phone call, asking if he would be interested in putting some money up to be a part of Restaurant Take-over – a design show known for dramatics. A team of designers, chefs and contractors go in and save a ‘restaurant on the verge of collapse.’ They take in undercover cameras first to find out what’s wrong with it – why it’s not doing so well.

“They just came in; they were mocking the decor and our customers and being horrible and branding and naming things,” Harrison said.

But that painful experience is quickly followed by a breakthrough – a new menu, a new look, and soon, before you know it, the business has turned itself around and all is well.

When he was first approached about the show, Harrison said he didn’t believe it.

“I thought it was a practical joke,” he said about getting a phone call from the pro-duction company. “I thought it was a gag and I’m like, ‘Yeah, who’s this?’”

But sitting in the newly-designed Duffy’s, it’s clear Harrison is happy about how everything turned out. Though it was a hard process, he said his customers are pleased with how Duffy’s looks now – cleaner and classier, without feeling like a different place.

“The changes we’ve made have made a lot of sense to me,” he said.

Those changes didn’t come cheaply. Har-rison was required to front $15,000 which was matched to the cent by TRICON Films and Television. And Harrison said he had to be aggressive to make sure the things he loved about Duffy’s weren’t taken away. The physical bar is over 50 years and was almost the subject of an infamous de-struction scene. But before the tools were brought down, Harrison stepped in, saving the centrepiece of the tavern.

“Basically, it’s all smoke and mirrors,” he said. There’s a lot of staging and behind-the-scenes footage that never makes it to tape. Regardless, Harrison said the atten-tion generated from the process makes it all worth it.

“You can’t get that kind of publicity for $15,000.”

And now booths line the walls where banquettes used to be. Homemade lamps...

*Grand Opening Special**Garden Salad.........................

*Gyro Pita...................................

*Burrito..........................................

*Plain Burger........................

*Classic Cheeseburger...........

*Chicken Beef Souvlaki...........

*One Egg Breakfast...........

*Coffee or Muffin.....................

$3.90

$4.25

$4.99

$3.99

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*Located just outside Dufferin Station

For more menu selection, visit our website - GreekoGrill.com

Top - Duffy’s owner Harrison Mazis made it a priority to preserve some of the tavern’s original identity. Bottom - A new storefront façade was a major part of the transformation. Photos by Amber Daugherty

MAINSTAY PUB DUFFY’S TAVERN UNDERGOES MAJOR UPGRADEThanks to the help of reality TV show Restaurant Takeover, the near 65-year-old community watering hole now boasts its most comprehensive facelift to date

see DUFFY’S TAVERN page 10

Exposed brick, a new façade, and a vintage 1973 Norton Com-mando motorcycle are just a few of the features added to the former Caribbean Queen of Patties loca-tion that is home to the recently opened the Emerson restaurant (1279 Bloor St. W.).

“This is the first time we have opened a restaurant, and we prob-ably did too much – which is what usually happens,” said a spokes-person for the Emerson of the renovations to the space.

Walls have been knocked out to create an open environment and the bar and tables that line the dining area are handmade from wood that was harvested from an organic farm in Palmerston, On-tario.

Along with aesthetic upgrades, a new kitchen was added and ev-erything down to the electrical and plumbing has been redone, said the spokesperson.

The Emerson hopes the touches create a fun and casual atmo-sphere.

“We can be your everyday diner,

but also a fun night out,” said the spokesperson.

And while the renovations con-tinue - including work on a stage to host live entertainment - the staff have also found time to con-tribute to the community.

Wood leftover from the renova-tions has been donated to the Bike Pirates and the restaurant collabo-rated with FoodSave on a seed sav-ing event last month.

“We think it’s important to be good neighbours and work to-wards positive growth in the com-munity. We want to be part of the growth,” said the spokesper-son.

The menu offers customers din-er fare like the Emerson Burger with Beemster cheese sauce and flat iron steak served with classic béarnaise, or specialty items like dandelion root ice cream custom-made by Mapleton Organic.

“This is home cooking with a lit-tle extra punch,” said the spokes-person.

The Emerson’s hours are cur-rently 5:30 p.m. to 12:30 a.m. Wednesday through Sunday, but there are plans to open for brunch and lunch service in the future.

07

New In Business

The Bloordale Times February 2013

A peek at the restaurant’s bar area. Photo by Joshua Sherman

THE EMERSON RESTAURANT OPENS WHERE QUEEN ONCE RESTEDBY JOSHUA [email protected]

In goes Whippoorwill and out goes the Bloordale Pantry at the corner of Bloor St. and Lansdowne Ave.

BY MARY B. [email protected]

Tyler Cunningham, co-owner of the Whippoorwill Restaurant (1285 Bloor St. W.), loves his new spot at the southeast cor-ner of Bloor St. and Lansdowne Ave..

Formerly home to the Bloor-dale Pantry, the Whippoorwill offers brunch, an evening menu and Friday night entertainment featuring locals such as Whit-ney Rose crooning out country tunes like Patsy Cline.

“It’s a great neighbourhood,” says Cunningham. “It’s gritty and full of opportunity. Every-one that lives in it is very proud of it, despite its faults. You never know who you’re going to run into. It’s what Toronto really is, versus Yorkville which is what some Torontonians want it to be.”

Cunningham and his part-ner Shawn Creamer come with

plenty of experience. Cunning-ham has two years under his belt running the exclusive Air Canada club at the Air Canada Centre. He is also a chef at Mildred’s Temple Kitchen in Liberty Village and perhaps more notably, he is also a personal chef to favourite canuck comedian Martin Short. Creamer is part owner at the successful Dakota Tavern which sheds some light on the boom Whippoorwill has experienced since opening in November 2012.

Both owners are proud to offer a Canadian menu like east coast-west coast oysters with lemon

champagne mignotte served with a glass of “#9” from Toron-to Brewery Duggan’s. The décor includes a new wood reclaimed bar and a Canadiana style mu-ral of a farm landscape by a To-ronto painter whose works also adorn the Communist Daughter at Dundas St. and Ossington Ave. and Three Speed just down the road near Brock Ave. and Bloor St..

And now what of the name, Whippoorwill? Like everything at the restaurant, which emanates a wink towards thoughtful de-tail, Whippoorwill is two-fold in meaning.

“It’s a place I used to frequent near Lion’s Head (en route to Tobermory),” says Cunningham, “and it’s the name of a Northern Ontario nocturnal bird who only sings at dusk.”

Here’s hoping the Whippoor-will’s clientele continues to en-joy its delightful new tune in the neighbourhood.

WHIPPOORWILL OPENS UP ON BLOOR ST

“It’s a great neighbourhood, it’s gritty

and full of opportunity - everyone that lives in

it is very proud of it.”

Tyler Cunninghamco-owner of Whippoorwill

Whippoorwill, unlike the Bloordale Pantry, is open after hours. serving an evening menu. Photo by Justin Millerson

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You could call Gigi Ziani and Silvio Rodriguez Toronto treasure hunters. Everything in their one-month-old café at Dupont St. and Edwin Ave., has a price tag. From the t-shirts, the vintage bike hel-mets, to the chairs and tables the customers sit at, Ziani and Ro-driguez handpick all the goods themselves

“I’m out everyday looking for new things,” said Ziani “I love it.”

The only item that’s not for sale is his red motorcycle that looks out the front window, a prized possession.

Although the front of shop sports a more Torontonian biker theme, that acts as their retail space, a little bit of Latin Ameri-ca can be found in the mate teas and food items on their menu. All of their lunch items, such as the sandwiches and empanadas are freshly hand made by Rodriguez’s wife at their other location on Queen St. W..

The café’s name, El Almacen General (1642 Dupont St.), also reflects Rodriguez’s Latin Ameri-can background,

“In a general store there they

sell everything,” he said. That’s exactly what these own-

ers are attempting to do. “It keeps it interesting,” said

Ziani “the coffee and food that we sell stays the same, but the prod-ucts in the store will continue to change, and that intrigues cus-tomers to come back.”

Ziani admitted that he was hesitant at first to open the café on Dupont St., but Rodriguez couldn’t ignore the potential this area has.

“I like going to neighbour-hoods that are underdeveloped but growing and have a lot of buzz about them,” said Ziani.

This store is the first place they looked at, and decided it was per-fect.

“We are on the north side and get great light in through the store all day, it’s stunning,” said Rodriguez.

They plan to put a small patio out front for the summer.

Not only is this a sunny spot, but a lot of their customers from the Queen West area have moved to the junction, so in turn, they opened up on Dupont St. to con-tinue serving them.

“The reception we’ve gotten from the neighborhood

has been really positive,” said Ziani, “we’ve already got regulars.”

Their “chill (winter) hours” are Monday-Friday 9-5 and Saturday-Sunday 10-4. Ziani and Rodriguez are currently the only two man-ning the store, but admit they are having a lot of fun with it.

“Everything for sale here has a story behind it,” told Rodriguez and he personally wants to make sure that the customers get to hear it.

Ziani said that there is nothing in Toronto quite like this, a café combined with specially selected

vintage goods for sale. “We’re trying to bring in some-

thing that’s new,” he said.Rodriguez compares the theme

of their General Store to Reese’s Pieces, “ you mix chocolate and peanut butter, that’s what you got here.”

09

New In Business ~ Health & Wellness

The Bloordale Times February 2013

BY DR. JENNIFER [email protected]

Heart Smarts: Why we should mark February’s National Heart Health Month

Do you know someone on cho-lesterol-lowering medication?

Do you know someone on high blood pressure medication?

Do you know someone who has diabetes?

You probably answered yes to one or more of these questions - condi-tions prevalent in Ontario, and all under the umbrella of cardiovascu-lar (cardio – heart, vascular – blood vessels) disease (CVD). These con-ditions have been associated with severe risks including: heart attack, stroke and death. According to Statistics Canada and The Heart & Stroke Foundation of Ontario, ev-ery 7 minutes a Canadian dies from heart disease or stroke, killing more Canadians than ANY other disease.

There is good news! CVD can be safely and effectively managed AND prevented through dietary and life-style modification, stress manage-ment, and naturopathic therapies.

A heart healthy diet favours fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains over processed foods, refined sugars and excessive animal foods. Mixed dietary fibre (from a variety of plant foods) and heart healthy fats (nuts & seeds, leafy greens, avocados, ol-ives, grass-fed beef & poultry, wild caught fish) yield excellent results. A (heart) healthy approach to diet ignores trends and looks at both quantity of the food we eat, and its quality.

Stress has a huge effect on your heart, causing blood pressure, blood sugar and cholesterol to rise, and negatively impacting your immune system and digestion. Deep breath-ing, meditation or prayer, regular exercise and relaxation for mind and body, are proven help to lower

cholesterol, and regulate blood pres-sure and blood sugar levels.

Diabetes, obesity and smoking are strongly associated with CVD risk. Smoking is responsible for 14.5 per cent of ALL cardiovascular deaths in Canada; but risk decreases immediately upon quitting, and within one year the risk of death is cut in half. Additionally, a 10 per cent weight loss can stabilize blood pressure and blood sugar levels, and decrease your risk for CVD.

A number of supplements and herbs show benefit, when used ju-diciously. Naturopathic Doctors are uniquely trained to recognize interactions they may have with prescription medications – an im-portant safety consideration - and typically spend more time with pa-tients guiding them in appropriate dietary and lifestyle changes. I also provide my patients with an assess-ment of their 10-year risk for CVD, based on Ontario Medical Associa-

tion guidelines. This February, make heart health

your priority!Jennifer Baer is a Naturopathic

Doctor, trained chef and Registered Holistic Nutritionist, with a passion for educating people about making

healthy dietary & lifestyle choices that support cardiovascular health & prevention. Her Heart Smarts Program is a great way to celebrate National Heart Month! For more information , please visit:

http://www.drjenniferbaer.com.

ASK YOUR BLOORDALE NUTRITIONIST AND NATUROPATH DR. JENNIFER BAER

Dr. Jennifer Baer, licensed nutritionist and naturopath.

NEW COFFEE SHOP MAKES LEAP FROM QUEEN ST W TO DUPONT STBY HARRIET [email protected]

El Almacen sells just about everything that meets the eye. The only thing not for sale is its prized item - this vintage motorcycle. Photo by Harriet Luke

News

10 The Bloordale Times February 2013

...hanging above the bar made from liquor bottles, candles on the tables and a new paint job cre-ate a cozy, inviting atmosphere. And next door, Duffy’s Diner is just about set to open. Tiles on the floor literally spell out the name and it’s a retro sort of feel that is just different enough from the tavern to make each its own des-tination.

Duffy’s seems like the kind of place people will want to spend their weekend nights at. It is, after all, a favourite for many bands who live in the area. Guys from the band Finger Eleven visit the tavern often, Blue Rodeo members live up the street, and Stompin’ Tom played his first gig in the back of the place.

It’s still the same place, Harrison said. That was what his patrons were worried about. But now, his long-time regulars are joined at the bar by 19 year old university students and 30 year olds who’ve heard about the place.

“At first I thought there’d be cra-zy tension,” Harrison said. “But it turns out that they’re all getting along.”

The show wrapped up at the end of December. The episode isn’t ex-pected to air until the fall of 2013, and there’s still a lot to do in the meantime. While the front area of the bar has been completely re-done, the games room downstairs still requires some work. Harrison said plans for that include adding more games – he’s a big fan of 50’s style pinball machines – as well as

TVs. But he said he’ll be ready for the

influx of people Duffy’s will cer-tainly see when the show airs on the Food Network. The bar already boasts music seven nights a week alongside its popular jukebox and it now has a menu. The specialty seems to be burgers, though Har-rison said there’s a good selection of local comfort food.

Duffy’s is one of those places that can be referred to as an in-stitution. People in the neigh-bourhood go in to feel at home. Harrison is the sort of man who remembers everyone’s name, is constantly engaged in conversa-tion and is honestly doing his best to ensure everyone around him is having a great time. And the most obvious thing about him is how

much he cares about the tavern.“It’s a tough act to follow, be-

cause Duffy’s has been here for 65 years, operating successfully,” he said.

“The first reaction I get from people is ‘Wow, it’s amazing but it’s still Duffy’s,’ and that to me is just

payment in full. It doesn’t matter if I’ve spent two million dollars in the renovation – as soon as I hear people saying ‘Great job,’ ‘We still feel comfortable,’ ‘We still want to be here to eat and drink and oh – by the way the bathrooms are amazing,’ that’s it, I’m done.”

DUFFY’S TAVERN from page 6

...remarked to be a bit outdated by North American standards. However, Horne says improvements are pos-sible.

“Luckily we have the space to put these [accessible access] in now,” he said. “Transit systems in London and Paris struggle to accommodate these accessible features.”

Automatic, sliding doors at the main entrance and new collector booths with barrier free access will all be installed, along with the addition of elevators on both platforms to al-low for increased accessibility to both the concourse and street levels.

Other modifications like expanded bike parking with a canopy and im-proved way-finding within the sta-tion are anticipated to be welcomed improvements to customer conve-

nience, while aesthetics like new fin-ishes, landscaping and public art will add a fresh image to the 47-year-old station.

Committee members from TTC, the Bloordale BIA, as well as Council-lor Ana Bailão, have been meeting to specifically address the appearance of the entrance at the north-west corner of Dufferin and Bloor streets. Bailão said that while the project won’t be completed in time to directly tie-in with this summer’s streetscape improvements, it is still something worth looking forward to.

“We all worked together to im-prove the feeling [of the area] for people who are just walking by to people who come to use the station. It will open up the corner a lot more,” she said.

Completion of the entire project is expected in 2014.

DUFFERIN STATION from page 1

Future Dufferin Station exit at Russett and Bloor Streets. To see more renderings, visit our Facebook page. Renderings courtesy TTC

Top - The woman’s bathroom after renovation. Bottom - The woman’s bathroom before. Photos courtesy Duffy’s Tavern

A look at Duffy’s Tavern years ago. Photo courtesy Duffy’s Tavern

11

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The BloordaleTimes February 2013

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