Eat & Drink
The Future of Future Bakery's Patio
The Annex neighbourhood residents and U of T students alike will surely be disappointed if the new owners of Future Bakery and city staff decide to put away the hot spot's patio for good.
One of the few things that gets us Torontonians through the sub-arctic weather and seasonal depression is looking forward to sangrias in the sun during patio season.
Sure, there are plenty of places to go for drinks in the summer. But Future's is prime for chilling out with a beer and all-you-can-eat perogies (on Wednesdays). There's so much history, and there are so many people to bump into.
A long-time run family business, the Annex's Future Bakery has, after several years in negotiation, been sold to new owners. In an effort to keep both its customers and neighbours happy, they've decided to hold a general meeting on the status of the "noise disruptions" which come from the chatter and clinking of the patios. This is an issue mainly during warmer months, but possibly even in fall/winter as the patio is heated.
But there are so many hypothetical questions we could ask of this non-patio envisioned Future...
The place is always packed. Where will everyone sit? What if I want to eat my cake outside? Will no patio mean a loss of regular customers?
Councillor Adam Vaughn and the new owners of Future Bakery/Labyrinth lounge will get together with residents and anyone else with an opinion on the matter at the end of this month.
According to the Facebook Group Save Future's Patio, "no effort was made to reach out to those in the area who work/go to school and aren't involved in these decisions".
It's the peoples' patio, and if you want it saved, it's time to speak up. But not too loudly - you might disturb the neighbours!
Written by guest contributor Miki Sato. Photo by Tim Shore.
Discussion
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I was at a community meeting in the neighbourhood a while back, and there was talk of closing off the end of Brunswick between Future and The Brunswick House to create a small square. That would have been nice. Two very vocal residents of Brunswick were complaining about this idea (after having initially being the ones to bring it up). I wouldn't be surprised if they're the ones who are complaining about Future's noise.
Wouldn't the Brunswick House likely be much louder than Future's patio?
Is a little puke and some broken bottles on one's front walkway really a better thing than the sound of laughter and people enjoying themselves?
These sound like the same idiots that move next to an airport and complain about the noise. Whether it's YTZ or YYZ there are people next door complaining, even though the airports were there before the houses or, in case of YTZ, before the complainers parents or grandparents were alive.
Vaughn has to be the worst politician on council, including Miller and Giambrone. He's the worst anti-urban rabble rouser an yet represents an urban ward full of people who moved there precisely due to its urbanity. I moved to the Annex because of the street life and the subway. Sure the subway's rumble could be felt and heard, as could the buses, and the partiers making their way to the innumerable bars. But that's living in the city. Now in King W I hear trains, street cars, emergency services, and the partiers who are out from Wednesday on. But that's why I'm there.
If people want a country idyll, there are plenty of houses in 905 and 705 that give you that within commuting distance of the city. If you want amenities and proximity to urban life, you have to accept proximity to urban life.
It's well past time that the city had an anti-NIMBY policy. Start aggressive bylaw enforcement on NIMBY streets, with garbage fines, sidewalk fines, and finding any possible infractions to punish them for their uncivil actions.
I guess legally, if Future's is considered a "landmark", it should be the city's responsibility to listen to the people and make a decision?
I'm really glad they're at least holding some sort of meeting with the public. That's a defenite step forward.
Save the patio!(*and it's not noise pollution.. it's community people!)
I don't see how this is a debate. I can understand the complaints when Queen West's nightlife starts enroaching on neighbourhoods further and further away, but Bloor street has always been busy. At one time these residents had to choose to live by this busy street with its Brunswick House and other businesses.
If <b>anything</b>, I find that stretch of Bloor calmer in recent years with the rise in popularity of Queen West.
I think this is an interesting land dispute. Maybe Futures Bakery isn't the issue, but I could certainly see that The Lab might be (I know they're connected) . I also think if anyone who would argue against the residents and their right to quiet time are acting obtuse or simply ignorant to some of the very people who have allowed Futures to exist, and certainly wouldn't want Futures Bakery patio to vanish into just a memory. I believe there is a happy medium for both sides, whomever is part of this dilemma. I just hope everyone has a chance to speak their concerns and work towards a solution where happiness is achieved.
First of all Future Bakery is in the neighbourhood of Harbord Village not the Annex. Additionally the Community Association in the area has made it clear that whenever a new patio application (or a transfer due to a sale) is received by the city, a public process should assess the application. This becomes more important when the patio has a liquor licence attached to it. Often when a new patio or a new owner is involved a probationary period is negotiated. This is why my office has called the meeting.
As for this site Future bakery is generally a good neighbour and its patio has presented few problems. The Labrynth on the other hand has presented significant problems in the area. Loud music until 3 and 4 in the morning, fights and shouting after hours often spills into neighbour’s yards and porches on Brunswick. Vandalism and other problems, like people vomiting or urinating in front yards have caused significant concern too.
There have been several meetings between residents and the owners or operators of Future Bakery, the Labrynth, the Brunswick House, The Tranzac Club and the Green Room and the BIA, to try and deal with these issues. Some progress is being made.
Under the previous patio licence the Labrynth had no specific clauses pertaining to noise, nor any penalties for overcrowding or a garbage management plan nor security requirements. These are the issues that will be discussed at the meeting, hopefully they can be resolved.
The community has been able to reach arrangements with many other businesses on Bloor and Harbord and College in the past and I expect with goodwill expressed on both sides another deal can be reached here.
We all like the patios, the summer nights (and the sangria with perogies). It is the front yard full of puke, smashed car mirrors and drunken brawls that spill out of some of the patios that we are trying to deal with.
The Labrynth and the Brunswick House have been identified as long standing problems and this patio licence transfer will hopefully give us all a chance to resolve some issues.
Adam Vaughan
City Councillor
Ward 20
Sigh... go (Queen) West, young man.
2. "Loud music until 3 and 4 in the morning"? If that's what Labyrinth does, then fuck them - they deserve fine after fine until they fall in line.
3. Close patios at 11 like many many other patio bars do. Up until 11 pm, the neighbours can piss off with their noise complaints.
4. 3 buildings south of Bloor and Brunswick isn't the Annex? Yeah, right. I'm sure all those people in those pricey homes on the south side of Bloor would disagree.
5. If there are always fights, then force the bars to hire cops, just like down on Cheese Street - uh, I mean Richmond.
6. Adam Vaughn is turning out to be a clown. Bends like a reed in the wind.
Is Adam Vaughn proposing to close the Futures patio entirely? It seems as though the problem lies with Labyrinth.
This article feels misleading and very vague. Where is this person getting their info from? The heading makes it seem as though they are in talks to close the patio entirely.
Good on Vaughn for writing into BlogTO.
I'm an artist and live off Brunswick Ave. near the Brunswick House which is across from the Lab/Future. Between the hours of 11pm and 4 am Thursday - Saturday people visit the Brunswick house to get drunk & laid, and have absolutely no vested interest in the neighbourhood (-in some cases bused in and out from Brampton), the residents or property where they get pissed. Some decide for whatever reason to bully-while-intoxicated after the bar(s)let them out at 2:30 am and others chose to hang out on the aforementioned patios.
Escalating noise (and violence!) by dickheads out to let off steam, has made living in the neighbourhood or merely being out after midnight a safety issue(- have you seen these neanderthals? - blogTO, surely not) and alcohol on patios is part of the problem.
You never know what you'll step into actually - I've had my (fortified) mailbox ripped out from the wall, bricks & bottles thrown randomly at and over my doorway, ...and on, puke notwithstanding.
Those of you who would like to wax poetic on those halcyon days of drinking sangrias on the patio of Futures clearly haven't spent any time in the area after 2:30 in the morning when the animals are released from their cages and roam our streets to disturb and destroy.
Wake up folks. The days when you or your parents partied down at the "Brunny" are over. Today it's guns and wanna-be gangsters. There was a shooting this summer. Two people shot at Brunswick and Bloor after an having drinks at the Lab. The Lab's patio license was a sham to begin with. It was supposed to be an extension of the Future Bakery's patio. Anyone who has been to the Lab knows it's not Futures. I've seen people so over-served that they can barely walk, let alone get in their illegally parked cars and drive home. I've seen drunken idiots screaming along Bloor as they smash shop windows, piss on lawns, rip out whole hedges, spill garbage everywhere, rip off car mirrors, you name it. People don't care anymore. We tried calling the police, but they don't consider it a high enough priority next to the violence that is now starting to explode in other parts of the city.
Toronto has changed. Those of us who moved to the Annex, and especially closer to the bars, did so because we liked being immersed in the city and "close to the action." Contrary to some of the comments made on this page, we did not move then decide we didn't like noise. The noise level changed as did the people making it. The Brunswick House is so desperate for a crowd they have taken to busing them in from outside the city. The last Bus trip ending in a brawl that left a man bleeding and unconscious on the steps of your beloved Futures.
To those of you who feel it necessary to hammer Adam Vaughan for his getting involved with this, I only hope that when you, in whatever area of town you actually live in, have a problem that seems hopeless, that you have a councillor who cares enough to lend YOU a hand and not have his or her hand out to business.
Concerning Councillor Vaughan's post above: there's not many politicians gutsy enough to set themselves up as a target for anonymous attacks.
On Monday, January 26, the new owners of Future Bakery and the Labyrinth Lounge, in cooperation with the Harbord Village Residents' Association (HVRA) and Councillor Vaughan, will be hosting a community meeting to discuss the establishments' patios. The new owners would like an opportunity to meet with the community to listen to concerns about the patios and brainstorm strategies to mitigate noise.
Date: Monday, January 26, 2009
Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Location: The Walmer Centre, 188 Lowther Ave
In order to use the patios, the new owners of Future Bakery and the Labyrinth lounge must apply for a transfer of the patio licences. In the fall, the owners applied for a patio licence for the Labyrinth Lounge, and Councillor Vaughan objected to the transfer. As a result, City staff denied the application and notified the applicant.
Once the Councillor refuses an application, it is up to the applicant to file an appeal with the City. Once an appeal is filed, Toronto and East York Community Council (TEYCC) considers the request at a public meeting and will decide whether or not to approve the patio.
Councillor Vaughan is aware of the local neighbours' ongoing concerns about the operation of this patio and the concentration of activity at Brunswick and Bloor. We have been clear with the applicant that the Councillor will not support his application until the local neighbours are satisfied.
Documented feedback from the community will be necessary when and if an appeal is presented to TEYCC. This information is also important for coming to a common understanding with the business owner/applicant.
Those who are unable to attend the meeting on January 26 are invited to send their comments to our office at
councillor_vaughan@toronto.ca'
How do you know??
I vividly remember Councillor Vaughn publicly embarrasing himself on CP24 while he bashed a reporter doing a story on the filthy rat infested restaurants in Chinatown. Oh how strongly he defended those establishments after the city closed them down for unsanitary conditions.
Please end the personal vendetta against Futures. Let a successful business be successful. We don't need more job losses. And don't speak about a meeting held for all. Councillor Vaughn did not extend an invitation to the owners of the restaurant, to attend the malicious meeting, called to lynch the owners.
The Lab patio is the one we are against - it's the closest. Some of us (including me) have kids. And we all think we have a right to sleep in our bedrooms at night.
I don't understand your rationale. The section of patio in front of what is now the Lab has existed for 20 odd years. There have always been patrons there - whether they are drinking coffee during the day or sangria at night. How can you claim that this patio is marching closer to you?!? It has always been there and occcupied since the days of Illich's. With the alley and the Tranzac as a buffer zone, this patio is not really that close as to warrant total shutdown during the day!
I undersand tthat it might be noisier at night, but this can easily be resolved with intiatives such as extra security, noise barriers etc. that the staff of the Lab are trying to have the opportunity to put into place.
What's wrong with having this patio section open during the day (11pm) until these initiatives can be put into place? Why let a local business and the student/youth population that rely on the Lab for income suffer? Especially given the economic climate!
Annette
Getting an existing license retracted by the City or AGCO is near-impossible. So the spread of patios towards us is like the turns of a ratchet, appropriate to the bar's then theme. My daughter is nine years old and walks her pet ferret by what is now the Lab and can hear the patio conversation from her bedroom window. Lab late night conversations are not a lot better than Ilyich's were.
Sorry, but we all become puritans when we have families, and we don't feel it's up to us to move out of the home where we've lived for 14 years (or 30 years and 60 years - wow - for the two neighboring houses).
"At the time of applying for the licenses it was portrayed by the then operators as being an extension of the Futures patio...Rather quickly we had a sado-masochism bar and patio there, complete with black painted underground dungeon and barbed wire. "
It sounds like you are saying that in 2000, the Lab became a sado-masochistic bar with black painted dungeon etc. You are referring to Illich's circa pre 1997 and its gothic sub-culture decor. This decor and clientele disappeared after 1998 although there is certainly nothing wrong with a bar decoring its interior any way it wants...in fact sounded quite cool!
Anyways this is irrelevant and back to the point:
The patio space in question has been seating customers for about 20 years;
The Lab patio should be allowed to be open at least during the day as it has been in past years. It still does serve as an extension of Futures since it serves coffee, cheesecake and breakfast as well as alcoholic beverages and allows for more space for the overwhelmingly popular to location to seat customers.
You have been successful in hindering the Brunswick House and the Tranac from forming patios so I still do not see how patios are "marching towards you". The patio space in question has existed for a long time and should at least be allowed to continue during the day.
Once again, I understand the late-night noise issue may be a problem for neighbouring residents, including your daughter, and obviously I don't think that moving is option, but late-night noise will still happen from crowds spilling out of the Brunswick House, Green Room and pedestrians using beautiful Brunswick Ave as their pathway south. Completely doing away with Lab patio seating is unnecessary punishment for an issue which stems from the very existence of Bloor Street.
You're probably right that the Lab area has been a patio for more than nine years. But 20 years isn't right either- I only moved to the area in 1994 and was only then would get the City alerts that a new patio was in the works, and that wasn't for a couple of years after I moved. Perhaps we can agree that some time in the last 13 years it went from non-patio to Ilyich's S&M bar and ended up as being Lab. Doubtless City Hall records could clarify the exact time line if necessary.
TRANZAC is in an odd situation. In 1994 the realtor told me "Don't worry about TRANZAC. It's zoned residential (true - see
http://www.callat11.org/Documents/Maps/Bloor-Brun%20Map%20Approx%202002.pdf
) and will be townhouses in a few years'. Patios in residentially zoned areas don't happen.
Brunswick House: patio applications have always awoken a blizzard of objections. It was a tony place till about the 1960s, but the lady who has lived here since the 1930s says it never had a patio.
"I still do not see how patios are "marching towards you"" you comment. Actually our fears are well-grounded. Annex Live was to have had a patio application hearing at City Hall at 9:00 am May 6, 2009. We residents duly rearranged work schedules and printed multiple copies of our objections, only to be told the previous evening that a patio would not be discussed after all.
In my student days I worked as a barman in the summer, and can understand the feelings of students affected. But for residents a patio is not a 3 month situation; it's potentially 30 years of nightly nastiness that we didn't anticipate when moving to the area perhaps decades ago. Inevitably, you and I have different points of view. Actually we didn't anticipate having a child either, but that's a story for a different blog!!!
I think you are not well informed about the patio scene at the Brunswick Avenue. I worked at Futures in 1992, and I remember Vietnamese restaurant in same spot where Lab is now. They had their patio open until 2am every night. Than sometime after 1992 and before 1994 previous owner of Future Bakery ( as well as the owner of the entire building) opened Ilyich's where Vietnamese restaurant used to be. So that takes us at least 17 years back.
That was way before YOU moved into this neighbourhood!! And YOU accepted that scene when YOU moved in.
No, the S&M bar Ilyich's opened where the Lab now is after I moved to the neighbourhood in 1994. It wasn't a place that anyone thinking of living nearby would miss.
Keith Sharp
There is no reason the patio cannot be there for the afternoon/evening from 4pm till 10pm.... No reason at all.
It's un-fair... The Lab has been bullied into losing their patio completely.
If the Lab patio was open until 10pm, how would there be a noise issue anymore? It sounds like the bloggers above all just want their patio back during the day and you keep skirting this point-talking about non-issues. No reason at all why that patio can't be open during the day.
And speaking of patios, why isn't Future's open late anymore? What a shame! I have fond memories passing by that corner with friends to enjoy a pint at midnight. Future's isn't a rowdy place, let people eat their cheesecake on the patio at 1am if they want too!
<<If the Lab patio was open until 10pm, how would there be a noise issue anymore?>>
First problem is that kids sleep before 10pm.
Second problem is that before they sleep before 10pm they can hear any loud obscenities.
Third problem is that a patio open till 11pm is a nightly invitation to request longer hours. Now let me search for an example of such a request - I'm sure I've seen one recently - oh yes - in your second paragraph
<<And speaking of patios, why isn't Future's open late anymore?>>
1. After Future's and Lab's patio issues get resolved you will start compalining about vehicular traffic after 11pm on Bloor and Brunswick
2. Next woud be the subway line, you would want it to be closed at 11pm
3. What about pedestrian traffic, hmmm... I think sidewalks should be blocked off at 11pm
4. Do not forget about emergency vehicles, they get very noisy after 11pm
I can go on and on, but I'm sure you have your own agenda.
Ridiculous reasoning, Mr Sharp. Your demands are going too far!
There are patios all over the city that are closer to residential houses than Future Bistro and Lab are to the houses on Brunswick Avenue. They all have the right to host customers until at least 11pm, if not 2am. Shall we revoke their rights too? Certainly not since it is the existence of those public meeting spaces that gives the community its cultural capital. Would you prefer no licensed patios at all in the city of Toronto? Have you even sat on Future's patio at midnight for a cheesecake? Those folks are not rowdy! You should never take your children to the mall, the beach or for a walk along Bloor street during the day for fear of hearing obscenities! You chose to live in a lively community. Do not try to completely change it now! As stated in the above blogs, there has been patio activity on that corner for 17 years at least. Closing the Lab at 11pm seems like a fair compromise.
I am disappointed in you and the city of Toronto for allowing this to happen to such an important Toronto landmark.
Jeff Maclure, Annex Resident
Once Future changed hands, it had to reapply for a patio licence for each of the Lab and Future patios.
The City has by-laws and rules about who can get a patio licence, for what hours, and under what conditions. That is just a feature of living in a civilized city, and businesses in Toronto know what they have to do if they want a patio licence. Part of the licencing process is that those who live within a certain distance of the applicant business have to be notified of the application, and a majority would have to agree to the granting of the licence or not.
That being said, the neighbours who were most likely to be affected by the patio licence applications did not oppose the Future patio licence, but the owner of the Future simply did not make his application in a timely manner for the start of the summer season, and hence, the patio did not open. As soon as he did so, the patio licence was granted, and we are all happy to see it open again.
The Lab patio is another story, and the majority of the residents do not support it.
This may be galling to those who do not live on this street, but the City's rules are not designed to be responsive to people who are not going to be most affected by an issue but rather for those who are. We on Brunswick would have no right to say what should or should not happen on other people's streets or in their neighbourhoods, and vice versa.
About the patios are "marching towards you" problem, the Alex Live which is south of the Lab & even closer to the homes has now applied for a patio. Our fears have been realized & this application is despite the owner of the Alex Live previously giving his word not to apply for a patio when he was granted his licence for his establishment. We supported the Alex Live based on the promise & now a patio licence was requested. We support the Future patio but don't ask for any more.
You say that your "fears have been realized" because the Alex Live has applied for a patio licence. Unless the patio licence is actually *granted*, your fears have not been realized.
These residents are duped big time. Closing Lab has made the Brunswick House all the more powerful. They want to think that by closing the Lab, all the noise problems will go away. Instead of putting checks and balances (a sound barrier, anyone?), they wanted to throw the whole damn thing out. Both Futures and Lab will now struggle.
What resident in their right mind can see a problem with that... Why hurt a business when they don't do anything to you...
peace
You people want everyone to suffer for your bad decision, that’s not fair to the rest of the neighbourhood. In regards to the Lab, it may have a slightly different business function but without a doubt it is considered an extension of Futures and they share the same kitchen. Both patios are the jewel of the Annex’s crown. I refuse to let a handful of people take away the wonderful social liberties that the Annex has to offer and turn it into a lame suburb.
Back to the Future's
Yup, it's that time again. With sun umbrellas spread wide open, customers in shorts and shades, and pitchers of the finest local brews waiting to be poured, Toronto's patio season is back in full swing―at least for most bars. But unfortunately for a few, and a few very near and dear to our hearts (and livers), some outdoor havens are left stuck in limbo.
It's been far too long since we've heard about the official rulings for Future Bakery and the Labyrinth (nothing since some speculation from when the heat lamps were still on in January and February). We didn't really know what to expect until we saw those glorious doors open, bringing on all we'd hoped for―visions of Oreo cheesecake and Creemore Springs dancing in our heads―that was, until 11 p.m., when the doors closed prematurely, and the patio shut down to our utter dismay. And worse yet, the doors next door failed to open altogether. Skimming the web, we found no recent word from local news outlets, nothing beyond vicious commentary on the blogosphere. It took a few phone calls to find out just what is happening to our beloved Bloor West bakery and its newer neighbour.
Both Future's and The Labyrinth were bought out by Sumit Kapur early last year. And in Toronto, when a bar takes on new ownership, the owner must reapply for two new permits―one from the AGCO and a City of Toronto patio permit for use of a public sidewalk, one that cannot be obtained without the agreement of the community surrounding the patio. Since the sidewalk, as a rule, belongs to the city and its citizens, it is the latter license that came under contention when the transfer of ownership gave neighbours a chance to state their case about the state of the two patios.
Kapur has thus far had two meetings with the Harbord Village Residents' Association (representative of the area of Spadina to Bathurst between College and Bloor and not a part of the Annex as the common reference would entail), the first on January 26, co-chaired by Councillor Adam Vaughan and the residents' association Chair Gus Sinclair, and the second on April 3 with Vaughan and his constituency assistant Dale Duncan. Duncan told us that the first meeting set out to discuss concerns and the second to solidify details―which patios will be open and at what times. Although both patios, under new ownership, inherited a 2 a.m. closing time, some residents with the HVRA requested an earlier closing for The Labyrinth at the second meeting. They complained not of over-served liquor, but of lack of control―no one on the patio to control a few belligerent smokers making early mornings miserable for locals. They say the intention was never to close The Lab's patio altogether, but rather, to start off with a more reasonable time for the more rambunctious patio of the two, with the premise of a later closing time in the future should it prove permissible.
Kapur, however, wanted full-fledged operating hours―when we talked to Vaughan, he told us that Kapur "wouldn't take yes for an answer" when offered a compromise. Kapur rejected the notion to give the patio an early bedtime altogether, refusing to bargain with the residents and agitating an already fragile relationship. It was at this meeting that Vaughan gave what the HRVA refers to as the "garbage-dump analogy," asking Kapur if he then should be allowed put a garbage transfer station in a lot on Brunswick Street that works at all hours of the night and is both smelly and noisy, to which Kapur nodded his head. Strike two. After being denied their request, the residents decided to withdraw their initial offer, leaving Kapur and the patios with the hours under which it currently operates―Future's till 11 p.m. and The Lab, zilch, nada, zip.