A popular bar in Toronto’s east end is permanently closing its doors, an outcome one advocacy group believes could become widespread as COVID-19 containment measures continue to batter the industry.
Prohibition Gastrohouse, a fixture for 13 years along Queen Street East near Broadview Avenue, will not reopen following the pandemic, its owner, Michael Summerfield, told Global News.
He said when he first closed the bar in March, it was supposed to be temporary. “We thought it would just be a week or so and then we would reopen,” he said. “We didn’t realize how serious this, in fact, was.” A combination of high debt and no revenue proved to be unsustainable, Summerfield explained. “Our basic economy of our restaurant is analogous to the