Osler Records
Osler Records is the Junction clubhouse for an indie record label by the same name, but Toronto residents of all ilk and musical ability are welcome there.
Occupying a former aluminum factory on Osler Street, Osler Records is the brainchild of lifelong west-end residents Joe Ferrari, Ian McGrenaghan (Grand Electric, Manita) and Roland Broere, a trio that first met when cutting their hospitality industry teeth at Terroni on Queen West.
From there, Ferrari and Broere both moved into the music industry, Ferrari joining Sony Music Canada and Broere as an artist and later a manager. McGrenaghan, on the other hand, stuck to the restaurant world, going on to open a lineup of local heavy hitters you more than likely know and love.
The three all stayed in touch, though. Ferrari and Broere opined about starting their own record label, while he and McGrenaghan began batting around the idea of something more hospitality-focused.
When Ferrari finally left Sony after over a decade, the three finally joined forces on something that's a combination of the two, which has already proven a hit in the community.
"We wanted to have a physical space that we could operate out of," Joe Ferrari tells blogTO. "We didn't want a traditional office space. We wanted something where you can have artists coming through and create a bit more of a sense of community, stuff like that."
The end result, which serves not only as an event space and Osler Records HQ, but as a bar and cafe open to the public, achieves all of those aims and more.
Osler Records is the sort of place that oozes "cool" from every crack in its original concrete foundation. The staff working in management and behind the bar are, by and large, musicians themselves. The record label's limited vinyl pressings (the first of which was a 7" from Toronto's own 9Million) are listed on the menu beneath a full-page list of non-alcoholic offerings.
But Osler Records isn't "cool" in the way that makes the average Joe's hackles raise upon entry. Instead, it feels utterly welcoming, and that's all by design.
"We wanted Osler Records to be a place you could drop in any time, whether for a coffee at 9 a.m. or a show at 10 p.m. Sometimes I see people drop in two or three times a day, and that reflects the vibe we wanted to cultivate for the label and space. Take care of people and the rest follows," Ferrari explains.
The menu reflects that stay-all-day vibe, too.
A variety of coffee drinks, like the latte ($5.95), are available throughout operating hours, which on weekdays are 9 a.m. to midnight, and 9 a.m. to 2 a.m. on weekends.
A perfect lineup of snacks is designed specifically to be picked at at while you discuss the particulars of your favourite band's new EP among pals.
Case in point: olives ($8), chips ($6), bread and butter ($8.50) and Beemster cheese ($8) are all listed individually, but are at their best when ordered in harmony with one another.
A personal favourite, a plate of pickle spears, can also be ordered for $5.
If you're in the mood for something with a little more heft, nearby Noctua Bakery supplies Osler Records with assorted pastries, cold cut, and veggie sandwiches, the latter two of which go for $13.
The drink menu is similarly laid back. A selection of local, domestic and imported beers joins a tight wine list, available by the bottle or the glass, and a swath of non-alcoholic cocktails, beers and Zamalek sodas.
As for cocktails, classics and bar rail beverages go for $16 and $10 respectively, while three signature cocktails make up the rest of the list.
The Sun Burn ($16), a Corona michelada with the addition of pickle juice, feels just as appropriate to order with breakfast as it would between sets at one of the shows Osler Records regularly holds in its expansive event space.
For Ferrari, McGrenaghan and Broere, all of whom reside in or around the neighbourhood themselves, community is the central ethos of Osler Records, whether it be fostered through concerts, sports game screenings or by simply existing as a third place for the two main communities it serves: residents of the Junction and the city's unfairly overlooked musical world.
In both cases, it strikes just the right chord.
Osler Records is located at 2A Osler St.
Fareen Karim
