The Next Drake?

There is no doubt the stretch of Ossington between Queen and Dundas is a street in transition. Mixed in with the vietnamese eateries, laundromats and art galleries are a good helping of vacant storefronts displaying for sale or for rent signs out front.

One that recently sold was a massive building on the west side between Queen and Argyle that was the former home to Tops in Kitchens. The buyer? The Liberty Entertainment Group, owners of almost a dozen clubs and restaurants around Toronto such as the Rosewater Supper Club, The Courthouse, C-Lounge and the Phoenix.

The price tag? Just under a cool million.

While I'm not privy to what the Liberty Entertainment Group has planned for the building, it's probably not a stretch to predict it will radically change the face of Ossington and draw a chunk of the 905 crowd currently waiting in line outside of the Social and the Drake on Friday and Saturday nights.

Similar to how the Drake spawned Lot 16 and the Beaconsfield to lure away their overflow or uninterested patrons, I get the sense that prospective bar owners are already staking out ground in the area.

A case in point is Sparrow, a new restaurant and bar just next door that's scheduled to open on December 13th.