Toronto neighbourhood wants to save local restaurant from huge pizza chain

A new battle in Parkdale's war on gentrification is emerging this week as rumours swirl that a global fast food giant might be pushing out a local Asian restaurant.

Tibet Kitchen is reportedly closing after 13 years of business due to a massive rent increase brought on by a juicy business offer.

"Recently, a multinational chain restaurant offered a large amount to lease Tibet Kitchen's current location," reads a Change.org petition created on Oct. 12th. "As a result, the rent for this location more than doubled, forcing the owner of Tibet Kitchen to find another location."

The petition's creator said in an update over the weekend that Pizza Hut is the restaurant in question, and that "while I hold no ill will towards to the property owner, I think we can agree that Pizza Hut has very little of the magic that makes Parkdale special."

Total support. Councillor Gordon Perks: Keep Tibet Kitchen in Parkdale - Sign the Petition! https://t.co/zgYAHdqeDf via @CdnChange

— Nancy Leblanc (@NancyCLeblanc) October 16, 2017

Members of the Parkdale Community Updates Facebook group didn't mince words.

"Gross," commented one person. "We just got an A&W; too. Hopefully they don't last, but still... displacing Tibet Kitchen is a crime."

"The only way to fight these giants is to not use them," wrote another local resident. "Once this one and that Domino's opens we should encourage everyone to boycott them."

In the meantime, supporters of Tibet Kitchen are asking Parkdale-High Park Councillor Gordon Perks to change the licensing situation of a building down the street.

It is their hope that Tibet Kitchen can move into the vacant space at 1558 Queen St. West instead of closing down altogether, but right now there's a limit on the number of restaurants and bars allowed to operate on Queen St. between Dufferin and Roncesvalles.

Tibet Kitchen requires a licensing provision because the street is already at capacity for restaurants and bars.

This is the second time in less than a month that a major chain has upset Toronto residents with the perceived threat of its presence in their neighbourhood.