The Cadillac Lounge is officially closing after 19 years in Toronto
Another live music venue is about to bite the dust in our fair city, sources confirm: The Cadillac Lounge is closing this July — for real this time, and for good.
Owner Sam 'The Man' Grosso says that his unique space, a veritable Parkdale fixture since it opened in 2000, has finally been sold more than two years after a real estate listing first sparked rumours of the Caddy's impending closure.
Hiccups with a buyer prompted Grosso to keep the bar and restaurant open for another year back in June of 2018, but the time has now come for him to sell the building and move on.
"I'm going to take some time off, regroup, spend time with my kids," he said by phone on Thursday while running around with six youngsters at Canada's Wonderland.
"I'm going to be concentrating on music with my Cadillac Lounge Productions company and Fundraising for Sick Kids," he continued, pointing to a campaign named in honour of his son, Francesco, that helps support the families of children who've been diagnosed with Diabetes.
Grosso isn't 100 per cent sure what will happen to his building once the Cadillac is gone, though he does have reason to believe it's "going to be gutted" and turned into some type of retail space.
"From what I hear from my agent, [the new owners] are not interested in leasing it out as a bar or restaurant," he said. "I don't blame them."
Indeed, it seems harder and harder for business owners to justify keeping their live music venues open in Toronto. Over the past three years alone, we've seen the closures of Double Double Land, The Silver Dollar Room, Faith-Void, D-Beatstro, The Hoxton, Holy Oak, Gate 403, Soybomb HQ, Hugh's Room, UNIUN and 500 Keele.
The Cadillac Lounge will celebrate its last day in business on July 14. Go say 'hi,' then 'bye' while you still can.
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