Deadpool
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...
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This place was on resto makeover a year or so ago i believe.
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!
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.
Interesting!
http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/Local-Matters-What-Ive-Been-Brian-Fawcett/9781554200054-item.html?ref=Search+Books%3a+%2527Local+Matters%3a+What+Ive+Been+Thinking+About+for+the+Last+Ten+Years%2527
Later, I learned that the cafe itself was just as good. It will be missed.
Dooney's is done and as a matter of fact it was done long before the new owner took over.
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.
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.. <wipes tear from eye>
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.
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'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.