This Week in Food: Pizza e Pazzi expands, The Grove and RaviSoups open on Dundas West, Stack comes to Yonge & Lawrence, Reither's closes, & upcoming events

This Week in Food rounds up the week's food news, restaurants openings and closings, chef movements and upcoming food events in Toronto. Find it here every Friday morning.

OPENINGS & CLOSINGS

• The second location of Pizza e Pazzi is now open at 671 St. Clair Avenue West. The official grand opening takes place on March 29th.
• The Grove has finally opened its doors at 1214 Dundas Street West. Chef Ben Heaton is serving up contemporary British cuisine.
• Liberty Village is about to get a candy shop. The Golden Apple Confectionery (warning — flash and music!) will open in April at 171 East Liberty Street, unit #142 where they'll be offering various types of caramel apples and chocolate delights.

• After 20 years in business, Alice Fazooli's has closed their downtown location on Adelaide Street West. Locations in Mississauga, Oakville, Vaughan and Richmond Hill continue to operate.
• BBQ joint Stack will open on March 27th at 3265 Yonge Street.
• The three-year wait for The Saint (227 Ossington Avenue) to open is almost over. Corey Mintz has it that they'll finally be opening the doors on April 9th.
• March 29th will see a new sit-down location of RaviSoups at 2535 Dundas Street West.
• Chef Rod Bowers will be opening a second location of Hey Meatball at 91 Roncesvalles Avenue in May.
• The Commissary, a new cafe/bistro has just opened in Leslieville at 889 Queen Street East.
• Taco restaurant Rebozos (126 Rogers Road) is setting up shop at El Gordo, the Latin American food court in Kensington Market (214 Augusta Avenue).
• Rawlicious just opened another new location, this time in Markham (116 Main St. North, Markham).
• Church Street icon Reither's Fine Food International (530 Church Street) has closed its doors — owner Peter Reither has retired.

UPCOMING EVENTS

• The Group of Seven Chefs hold a "prohibition party" on April 16th at Cowbell Restaurant (1564 Queen Street West). Tickets are $80 per person and will feature an array of food plus 3 cocktails and 1 beer. Guests are encouraged to dress in flapper-era outfits.
• The last Sunday of the month is this weekend (Sunday, March 25th), which means Marben (488 Wellington Street West) will be offering their monthly pig roast. It sells out, so book a reservation in advance!
• Iron Cupcake returns to For the Love of Cake (171 East Liberty Street, #117) on Sunday, March 25th. Take part by competing or just eating. More info.
• The Made With Love cocktail competition takes place on Monday, March 26th at The Distillery District. A $40 ticket ($50 at the door) entitles guests to 13 tasting tickets (so you can try all of the entries from local bartenders and mixologists) plus finger foods.
• Piola (1165 Queen Street West) holds its monthly Lucky Gnocchi Day on Thursday, March 29th. For $14.99 guests can have all the gnocchi they can eat - staff bring around huge bowls of the pasta with different sauces.
• Also on March 29th, the Revue Cinema (400 Roncesvalles Avenue) holds their monthly foodie film event, The Epicure's Revue. This month features the film A Matter of Taste: Serving Up Paul Liebrandt. Tickets are $12 for non-members; $10 for members and seniors and admission includes a discussion plus food samples from area shops and restaurants.
• And the Stop For Food Chef Challenge takes place at Parts and Labour (1566 Queen Street West) on Monday, April 2nd. This event acts as the introduction for the Stop For Food dining event but is also a night where local chefs compete Iron Chef-style. Tickets are $25 per person.

CHEFS

• Chef Matt Kantor has announced plans to open Bakio at 1256 Dundas Street West where he'll be cooking Spanish-influenced cuisine. Expectations are that it will take 3 months or so to do renovations, but expect some delays.

OTHER NEWS

• The city has finally seen fit to grant Campagnolo (832 Dundas Street West) a license for a small sidewalk patio.
• Angelo's on King (791 King Street West) is no longer open for lunch but will continue to open for dinner.
• The Hot 'n' Dog (216 Close Avenue) is doing so well that they've now added hamburgers, pizza and ice cream to their menu. All available with any of the 80+ toppings.
• Porchetta & Co. (825 Dundas Street West) brings back the uber-popular porchetta and waffle dinner, tonight only (Friday, March 23rd) after 5pm only.

Sheryl Kirby is a food writer and editor. Her musings about the Toronto food and restaurant scene can be found on her website SherylKirby.com