Dooney's into the Deadpool?
Dooney's cafe, an Annex neigbourhood legend, may have sold its last three dollar jasmine tea.
I use tea as a reference because it's the only thing I've ever ordered there. I've lived two blocks away from Dooney's for most of my life but I've never really frequented the place (it's out of my family's price range...we were a 'Swiss Chalet' kind of crowd.)
Still, it was shocking to walk by the cafe this morning and see the windows boarded up with newspaper. I took a closer look and found a messy pen written sign on the door that read "Closed for Renos".
I'd like to believe them, but I've been told they had a massive blowout sale at the beginning of the week. Dubbed a 'content' sale, they sold off kitchen utensils, chairs, decorations...you name it.
Of course Dooney's has survived adversity before; there's a famous story about Starbucks attempting to take over the lease of the cafe and the neighbourhood rallying around the business. Will it happen again?
Maybe the recession hasn't been kind to Dooney's; people are holding onto their money more than ever and the Annex is littered with broke college students and artist types anyway.
Only time will tell if their 'reno' will ever be finished...
Comments (28)
I like the "closed for Renos" sign.
This place was on resto makeover a year or so ago i believe.
graziano marchese, who owned dooney's for 20 years or thereabouts, sold the restaurant last summer to someone who apparently (rumour mill speaking here) had little experience with either the industry or the clientele.
it's so sad, the place was really a historic and social landmark... i worked there throughout university and met some absolutely incredible people, including jane jacobs and margaret atwood.
note to the writer: it wasn't *that* expensive, swiss chalet was definitely comparable for family dining!
Damn...it was always a bit of a trek for me to make it there but it was always worth it. I'll miss it if it's gone for good.
I've only been in a few times, but still...it's one of those recognizable spots in my favourite part of the city.
I'll miss their brunch and patio. It really was never the same after the restaurant makeover, even before the original owner sold.
graziano marchese is now around the corner at the annex live (behind future bakery). i have had a couple of brunches there. room is great, service is perfect and food is fine.
post-marchese dooney's was disappointing for sure. i stopped eating there but still stopped in for a beverage when trekking around the neighbourhood.
i pipped into dooney's during contents sale - i had just finished brunch at annex live and was on a quest to find a whiskey glass as i passed by! they were selling everything. i asked the woman what they were planning and she said it was a surprise but that it involved food and more of a cafe feel. i am not sure what that means because i thought dooney's, at least in the marchese days, was the epitome of a cafe feel. anyway -- i hope they get the patio ready in time for the first patio day which cannot come soon enough.
i believe the owner is turning dooney's into a tea shop. there were job ads for it on craigslist.
Here's the ad that char is referring to: http://toronto.en.craigslist.ca/tor/fbh/1036144202.html
Interesting!
First I heard of Dooney's was in a book I picked up in Vancouver - it's a great read:
Later, I learned that the cafe itself was just as good. It will be missed.
I worked @ Starbucks when that whole Dooney's thing happened. We had flyers and everything! Really, it was just silly.
This reno was long overdue. Even the old owner knew that and brought in Restaurant Makeover (that failed miserably). It takes guts to renovate a business in these terrible financial times and think it will only improve the neighborhood. It's time to change with the times and stop living like it's 1985.
Dooney's is done and as a matter of fact it was done long before the new owner took over.
I'm not sure that Restaurant Screwover was the entire problem. I've only had the displeasure of eating there once - and it was horrible. The staff was awful, the food was overcooked, bland and just plain awful.
A makeover reality show can only go so far to wrecking a business, if the staff can't cook or open a bottle of wine - who cares what the place looks like.
Well, the person who bought it from Marchese is a silver-spooner from North York who's dad bought the business for her and who had never worked an honest day in her life. She fired all the existing staff without respecting labour laws, and apparently did the same thing just now (papered up the windows, closed the doors, and started renos without giving staff the proper notice.)
It's a shame, really. Despite the rough edges (occasionally bad food, consistently surly service) it was a great joint, the kind of place that makes you feel like you actually live in a neighbourhood. It will be missed.
^^
I agree the service *was* bad, but I really enjoyed the patio in the spring/summer. I spent a lot of time at Dooney's while in grad school..
Jimmy so smart of you to quote others that did not do their homework. Therefore showing you would jump to conclusions rather than to investigate the truth. Seems you know the owner and know for a fact that she has never worked at any job. Fired? As I heard it most of the old staff quit as soon as she took over. She did not break any labour laws and you would know that if you knew anything about the labour laws in Ontario. The staff knew for several months about the renos, and were told that as soon as everything was a "go" the place would close. There was no "midnight run".
Get your facts before you post quotes written by someone else. Apparently you didn't even read the blog above as it is not blaming anyone and no one really knows whats going to happen to the space. It states a shock of a 25 year old business going through a change. It also shows somewhat of an anticipation of whats to come.
I just don't understand people that live in the past and refuse to see change as a good thing.
Jimmy, I love how you said "silver spooner from North York who's [sic] dad bought the business for her" as though no one's ever received help from their parents when starting a new venture before. Maybe people shouldn't automatically let their jealousy get the best of them when they hear a story like that - as Sam said, until you know the facts or the person, it's not really your place to make that kind of judgment.
Do hope they open up again - agree that the service was never that good (I remember once waiting almost an hour for the food) but there was always a certain charm to that place.
I've eaten there twice.
First around 2003. There was an almost fascinating amount of birdshit on the patio table, the staff blithely ignored us, and when we finally got fed, the grilled chicken breast in my sandwich was completely raw in the middle. I don't mean a touch of a pinkish hue, either. That thing, though cooked on the edges, was bright pink and translucent in the centre- to the point where I assumed they'd accidentally brought me rare grilled tuna and took a bite, oops. Tasted like chicken, practically still clucking.
I showed the waiter, who wordlessly took the plate and wandered back inside. When he returned it a few minutes later, they had opened my (bitten) sandwich, re-grilled the (bitten) meat, re-assembled it, and brought it back with no apology. In other words, they put my partially-eaten food back on the grill- total health violation.
After sadly pecking at my gross bird sandwich, I decided to soothe my jangled palate with an order of peach pie for dessert. Under the lattice-top of the pie, I noted dollops of green mold on the congealed peach filling. I showed this latest indignity to the server, who listlessly offered me another slice of the same pie, which I declined. The finale to this horrendous lunch was that they charged me full price for that shitty, inedible, gastroenteritis vector of a meal. That was the only time in my life I ever I skipped a bill. Unbelievable.
My second time at Dooney's was in 2006. My lunch date really wanted to eat there, and I am such a gentle and nonconfrontational soul that I went along just to be nice, despite my bad previous experience. The service was normal, and my tomato soup was tangy and tasty. I detected no hint of decay in it, so I guess things can change.
Nonetheless, I'm not sorry Dooney's is gone. Dooney's never felt welcoming and that 2003 visit could not have been more disgusting / unsanitary. I'm not so nice that I'll forgive such a bad experience.
I'll miss walking by that place and telling people the only time I ever went there I got dumped by my girlfriend. Nah, I won't miss it.
So I guess "Sam" and "Rebecca" are the silver-spooner herself, or friends of same?
I've lived in the neighbourhood for about 5 years and always meant to go in some day, a little moreso after seeing it on RM a few months ago. Oh well.
I worked at Dooney's one summer in the mid 80s, and even though it has been bought and sold and reworked several times since then, I say good riddance. It was one of the worst places I've ever worked, and it sounds like terrible management practices continued with each change of owner. Oddly the cafe tended to inspire its regular customers with sentimentality while they defended their romance with cafe culture against the forces of Starbucks etc.
The staff were always awful at Dooney's. I'm glad their gone. I had a date there once and they accused her of being "unhygienic" because she sat cross-legged on the chair. That put me in a weird position. Never saw her again.
Walked by there today and looks like a great spot. If the food tastes as good as the place looks, it will be awesome.
Graz has opened up a new place just around the corner at 296 Brunswick (where The Poor Alex used to be) it's called The Annex Live. It's a great spot, and features live music Wednesday through Saturday nights....
I went to Dooney's a few times and was never overly impressed. I was ignored by the staff mostly, which was a huge improvement over the rather rude treatment I received the last time I went. I was trying to decide what to order and was told "Hurry up already" - there was hardly anyone in the place, but the staff member wanted to go sit with friends. Never went back.
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