And the record for fastest to the deadpool goes to...Smoke BBQ House. Opened on Harbord Street in December, the meat-focused restaurant announced on Twitter yesterday that it had closed its doors. Perhaps there's some cosmic stipulation that Toronto can only have so many bourbon and BBQ joints — and having reached capacity, one must invariably close when another opens.

Needless to say the folks at Smoke don't believe the gods are so cruel. According to Toronto Life, the chef has bought the business and plans to reopen under the name Smoke Bourbon Bar-B-Q House. As per a second tweet from yesterday, the previous owner promises to reopen (under the original name) "at a new location with a new chef." Call me an dink, but that seems like an awfully optimistic promise.

The barbecue game in this town has gotten rather competitive, and this particular smokehouse received mixed reviews out of the gate. Opening a restaurant in this city is also a rather lengthy process, so if a second Smoke is set to return at some point, here's betting it ain't soon. As for the restaurant at 536 Manning, watch for a new menu in the near future.

Photo by Jesse Milns