Massimo's Gets Shut Down

Where's the Lucky 7/Lobrats style outrage? Come on CityTV... aren't you supposed to be "everwhere?"

They don't have a video of mice scurrying around, or it would be on CityTV.

Noooooooooooooooooooooo!

I work and play in the neighbourhood. I have seen the Massimos guy outside picking his nose then going back in to serve food. I don't care how delish the pizza apparently is. I will never eat there just for the vomit factor.

Had I seen him wash his hands I might be persuaded to think otherwise but alas that's not the case.

Dirty-schmirty - why do you think their pizza is so tasty?!

Their pizza is awesome but the last time I was in there I saw two rats scurrying along the back wall and under a door - while the place was full of people! Hopefully this spurs them to clean up.

Were they not on restaraunt make over recently.
I rememeber hearing about Egor hanging out in front having a beer.

I wonder if there will be an insane city sweep of the area to see if any other pizzerias also have rats.

Oh wait.

This probably should have been caught with the last sweep. Oops.

I was the one who called in regarding the rats (see tweets linked below). I felt bad but there were at least 3 rats running around in plain site and the staff still had food lying around. I unfortunately didn't see any rats until I was about to eat the crust of my pizza.

http://twitter.com/torontoronto/status/1251965820

http://twitter.com/torontoronto/status/1252492172

I ended up having a really positive experience with the Dine Safe program and the city inspectors - they went in to inspect within a day or so of my complaint, the actual inspector of the premises wrote me a follow up email in which they explained their findings and noted that the place was going to be closed, etc, and provided me with contact info should I have futher concerns. This was by far and large the best and most positive experience I have had with any city agency. I was sad because I didn't want Massimo's to have to close or something, but at the same time I'm sure if I hadn't complained someone else would have (and based off their Dine Safe reports it was pretty inevitable).

lolololololol I passed by there today and they have the "Pass" sign at the bottom of the window and folded so that you only see the top half of the sign, and not the bottom half where it says that it was closed this week.


That sort of blatant dishonesty (as well as the note that started this blog entry) worries me.

Cat: Good on you for reporting it. The place was clearly unsanitary, and you might have helped a good number of people avoid getting sick.

That sign about ventilation is a blatant lie to save face.

I live two doors down from this place and see their dirty practices.

Massimo's back alley (which I share) is infested with rats - mainly due to their overflowing piles of garbage and filth.

Massimo's leaves their back door open during the hot summer days = rats and roaches roam freely in and out of their back door.

I have seen their employees take washroom breaks in the back alley - these guys urinate against the fence into the basketball court of Lord Lansdowne Public School where children play.

(Editors note: A portion of this comment has been removed/edited b/c it involved a personal attack)

Eww, that's gross. For sure it would be hard to gain the trust of consumers who once used to eat on their restaurant after this incident. I wouldn't dare visiting their store, there's a lot pizza parlor in town that offer more delicious food.

Been going there for almost 30 years...best pizza anywhere by a mile...Restaurant makeover was the beginning of the end...they spent money in the wrong places...destroyed the 2nd oven, didn't fix the washrooms...in terms of the ventilation issues (the building owner pipes his car repair shop fumes into Massimo's as well...and the landlord hasn't fixed the toilets for 30 years (where is the landlord's responsibility in this??)...what about the pulic toilets at City Hall skating rink...the City itself has violations that it does not take care of....

If all you are going in for is a quick slice at 2am --- then yes it is delicious!! However, if you actually intend to sit down and eat anything --- you're in for a horrible surprise. The place is filthy and the guy behind the counter is totally unstable. He yells, screams and swears at everyone who works there, calling them lazy and other obscenities right at your table. Don't even try to order pasta as they are either completely out or can't remember how to make it. If you ask for garlic bread, there is confusion as to whether it is served with pasta or not and all the workers ignore each other's questions in front of guests.
it is unfortunate as the pizza is delicious... but it is scary to see what it going on behind the scenes. I've never had to try to eat a meal while the staff are standing at my table swearing at each other and ignoring our need for a fork.

Anyone noticed they're closed now? DineSafe profile also gone. Guess a little bad PR went a long way...

They were on restaurant makeover in 2008. Strange it's been downhill ever since.
It was all tears of joy in 2008 but if Vinny, unlike his father Gus doesn't care for the business, then he should get out of it instead of dragging it into a probably lawsuit over food poisoning.