It is with heavy hearts that we send this message to all of you. Our building has unexpectedly been sold on Dec 30, 2011 and the new owner has issued an order to move as of Jan 31, 2012. We would have hoped to stay longer, long enough for us to secure a new location but this will not be feasible. While we fight the unfair order we sadly must prepare for the real possibility that our days are numbered at the corner of Queen & Broadview, a location we have very much loved for 22 years.

That sure as hell doesn't sound like adequate notice, but it's probably not a good idea to hold one's breath hoping that the restaurant will manage to foster a change of heart on the part of the landlord. Pottinger is, however, resolute about his desire to relocate his business. "We are committed to building our restaurant again and hope you will visit us as soon as we open our new doors," he writes in the same note. "Our catering business will continue in the meantime with our regular phone number, please don't hesitate to call or email if we can be of service or with any information pertaining to prospective property."

Thanks to @vveerrgg for the tip

According to Joe Kilmartin, the store's manager, Dragon Lady Comics is planning to close its doors for the last time on February 1st, though he suspects that the store will likely remain open until around the 5th of the month to ensure that the store's regulars can pick up their comic book subscriptions one last time. He emphasized that he thinks it's important for the store to honour its obligations to the customers that have helped the store stay open for so long.

To help put the loss into context, I spoke to Peter Birkemoe from The Beguiling who had this to say of the closing, "For someone of my generation, Dragon Lady has simply always been there, an important and unique outpost of comics and culture in Toronto's diverse bookstore landscape." He went on to explain, "It's a little shocking to hear that they're planning on closing — unlike many of the other book shops that have closed over the past few years there has been little sign that anything had changed with the shop. They've remained a great neighbourhood comic shop and a destination for those looking for great old magazines and print material..."

When Birkemoe says the store has always been there he isn't kidding. Dragon Lady Comics has been a part of Toronto's retail fabric since the spring of 1978 when it opened the doors to its Queen West location. More recently, however, the store has operated on College Street since 1996. For a lot of people, the loss of the store will be keenly felt.

As for the reasons for the store's closing, there aren't any surprises here: increasing rent and slowing sales have both contributed to its demise. Kilmartin did mention that the repairs done to the College Street streetcar tracks in 2004 played a significant role in the store's demise. Although the work started way back in 2004, it took over a year-and-a-half for the repairs to be completed, and in that time much of the street's foot traffic was eviscerated. He went on to say that a lot of the business on that stretch of College Street are still suffering from the extended renewal project.

Dragon Lady Comics is not the only store to experience changes in early 2012. Indeed, this year will likely go down as a transitory year for the whole of the city's comic book industry. The Silver Snail, probably the city's most well-known comic book store, is planning to move away from its current Queen West location, though it has yet to announce the actual location it plans to move to. Moreover, Excalibur Comics, an Etobicoke mainstay and my personal go-to store, has seen a reduction of its retail space and times of operation in order to survive.

According to Kilmartin there's unlikely to be a major liquidation at the store in the coming weeks. Instead, owner John Biernat has made preliminary plans to take the remaining stock and keep it in storage before ultimately offering for sale online in some capacity.

Photo by Harvey K on Flickr

Toast was in business for almost two decades. It was serving up blueberry pancakes, eggs florentine and its signature cranberry and cream cheese stuffed french toast long before there were many decent food options nearby. Now, of course, newer restaurants like Lady Marmalade seem to be drawing the largest brunch crowds on Queen East but Toast appeared to be still holding its own. But perhaps weekdays, lunch and dinner service wasn't enough to really make it a thriving business.

It's worth noting that there's been no posting on the door and tables and other fixtures still seem to be in place inside. So, here's hoping it might have a second life.

Thanks to chrisbozek and jarr2 on Twitter for the tip

All that remained was a notice on the door from GOAG Grinding and Brewing thanking customers for their support and mentioning that a new full service training facility will be opening within the next four weeks.

I emailed Fahrenheit's Sameer Mohamed for comment. He was light on details but explained that the reason for the sudden closure was due to "issues with the landlord". He wouldn't tell me where in the city they're scouting for a new location but did say they have already "entered negotiations for spaces."

As for what to expect in the new place, Mohamed wrote it will be a "bit larger, limited seating if any, predominantly take out." He also hinted that perhaps he and COAG had gone their separate ways noting that COAG will remain at the Esplanade location and not be involved in whatever holds for the future of Fahrenheit.

The old Klaxon coach house off the retail path will now house Misfit, a yoga and pilates fusion studio that will make the move from Parkdale into the new space in a few weeks. Robinson and Kim have already begun renovations on the old Delphic shop, and word is that they hope to unveil the new men's shop by October 1st. Klaxon Howl will also show their latest collection during the opening night of LGFW on October 17th.

Stay tuned.

And that's a shame.The Communal Mule had good coffee but great style. It was simply one of those cafes - with its large front windows, wooden tables and movie posters - that was easy to spend time in.

Ackee Tree will be missed and creates something of a void of decent Caribbean options downtown with the nearest alternative now being Pat's Homestyle a few blocks west.

Here's a photo of the note that was posted to the window:

Even though Cefiore is a global chain with franchises in the US, Australia and China it perhaps never stood a chance, opening in 2009 on Walmer Road just before the self serve FroYo trend started to take over. I don't think too many people will mourn the loss of Cefiore - it wasn't unique enough to stand out from the pack, but it will certainly raise the question whether the frozen yogurt trend had gotten too far ahead of itself.

There is, of course, almost everything you'd need to equip a restaurant - cutlery and plates, bowls, serving dishes, platters and glasses, all lovingly worn by 53 years of egg drop soup and chicken chow mein, some of which pre-dates China House to the steakhouse that originally occupied the space. There are some rare finds - an old postal scale stands out - and collectibles like the Pyrexware bowls in shades of pink, green and blue.

You can also buy the chairs - classic Chinese food join pieces in red and black - and tables, as well as some bits of food prep machinery, alongside cheque folders, chop sticks, and the ornamental vases that sat in niches by China House's little arched bridge just inside the front door. Wise has had the whole place extensively documented so he can reproduce as much as possible when he finds a new space, so a lot of the classic mid-century chinoiserie is for sale - wall paintings, art, and architectural interior details like the circular red doors and the pagoda roofs.

Which brings us to the iconic sign, which Wise had restored and re-lit at considerable cost just after he took over China House two years ago. He'd love to keep it, but the cost of dismantling and restoring it isn't in his budget while he searches for a new home for the eatery. "I'm basically hoping to find a good home for it," he tells me, with regret. That basically means it'll go to the best offer, whether that's a collector or a museum or a movie production house looking for set dressing. He's keeping the small sign on the east side of the building, which will likely disappear into storage along with a few key bits of the dining room when the new owners turn China House into a condo showroom. In the meantime, this is your last chance to grab a piece of Toronto dining history.

In an interview earlier this week, Wise said that he'd known that the owner of the building had closed a deal to sell the property last August, and that the business had been living on borrowed time since then, despite his success with the refreshed menu, the restored restaurant and his weekly jazz nights. "We knew about it, and it was just a question of just how fast development would happen in Toronto, so you never really knew whether it's going to be six months or six years — that's just the nature of development."

Wise says he's been looking at all kinds of spaces, but with the success of his takeout and delivery business, he needs to find a place with enough room to reassemble the dining room and make room for a stage for jazz shows, with additional parking outside for takeout customers and delivery drivers. He's also managed a rare and probably unprecedented agreement with the developer who bought the site to let him keep his kitchen open for takeout and delivery, while the dining room will be transformed into a condo presentation centre after they serve their final meal in the restaurant on July 18.

On the morning of the 19th they'll begin packing everything up - the classic mid-century chinoiserie artwork, the bonsai tree sculpture that's presided over the main dining room for decades, and the neon sign, which will likely disappear from this stretch of Eglinton West forever, unless Wise can find something suitable to his needs in the area.

"People have invited us to a whole bunch of different places," Wise tells me. "It's a well-established business and a well-respected name, and we think that we're pretty well operated, so we could go a lot of places. But it might be more important for us to stay close to our constituents, and midtown is really where they are."

As was the case with Sonic Boom's announcement, ownership claims that the move is not related to poor sales. "We hope you all understand that this has nothing to do with poor business, as we have enjoyed record sales that have gone up every single year," reads the at times emotional notice of closure.

Vinyl fans won't have that long to relish the presence of the store, as it plans on closing up shop by the end of July. In the lead up until then, there will be a liquidation sale of all of the store's stock. That, I suppose, is a small silver lining. Despite the gloomy news, staff have put on a brave face and invite record lovers to take advantage of the clear-out. "We hope you will all come by to say your goodbyes and take part in some amazing record sales. As they say, "everything must go!" and "all good things must come to an end."

But, as the Toronto Star reports, police announced today that they'll be seeking forefeiture of the restaurant, which would take place if Crimi is ultimately convicted of his offences. That leaves a window for Gigi's to remain in its owners hands, but only if he's able to successfully fight the charges against him.

"The property is not forfeited by any means. The property is still in his name," Detective Richard MacCheyne told the Post. "The restraint order makes the property available for forfeiture at the end of the proceedings. [For now], he can continue to operate his business."

So Gigi's fate now lies in the legal system and Crimi's ability to prove that he's innocent, a claim that he's made since his arrest.

Photo by Martin Reis in the blogTO Flickr pool.

UPDATE: According to Canadian Beer News, the Brewery closure is permanent.

Thanks to Brian Rosevear for the tip.

"I actually sold my share of the business to my partner back in June," she says. "I just wanted to move on, start a family. But I know since then sales have been going down."

Competition (Bloordale Pantry, Zocalo, Starving Artist, June Harlowe Foods) has also been moving into the area. "When I opened we were the only alternative brunch place in the area," Zorlutuna said. "Now there are tons of places."

Since she had sold her share of the business, the final decision was up to Yasi's manager and owner. "It's really tragic because it was so fast. After the decision was made, the doors were closed three days later."

Photo by Martinho on Flickr