toronto restaurant flops

The 10 biggest restaurant flops in Toronto from 2017

The biggest restaurant flops in Toronto this past year covered everything from a cereal cafe and a sushi-burrito joint to a soup-and-salad spot that only lasted for a few days. These failures just prove that success in the restaurant biz can be a tough nut to crack.

Here are my picks for the biggest restaurant flops in Toronto from 2017.

Silo 13

This cereal cafe in North York was only open for a couple of months before it closed abruptly. Apparently Toronto didn't want to pay $10 for a bowl of cereal.

Untold

Possibly the most confounding opening of the year, this soup-and-salad bar in Leaside was barely open before shutting down for good a few days later.

Republic

Sometimes "hidden" spots work well, but this is one example of it backfiring. This hard-to-find Lebanese cafe that was in the Entertainment District went belly up after six months in business.

Rollipub

Food truck Sushitto opened its first brick-and-mortar restaurant in Little Italy at the end of 2016 only to have it shutter less than a year later. It's now been replaced with a second location of Bi Bim Bap.

Abbiocco

Lasting only half a year, this Italian restaurant in Little Italy that was previously Frank's Kitchen is now a French bistro called Chez's.

AF1 Caribbean Canteen

Yet another casualty in Little Italy, this space at College & Clinton may be cursed, as nothing has managed to survive here over the past few years.

Rancho Relaxo

Talk about confusing: this space by College & Spadina has changed identities quite a bit over the past few years since it was last a Rancho Relaxo. It reopened again as Rancho at the end of last year, only to close again less than a year later. It's now a location of Karma's Kitchen.

Janie Jones

Interestingly enough, Davy Love, the man who took over the Rancho space after it first closed, opened this brunch spot on Gerrard East in Leslieville that lasted less than six months, and is now a third location for La Cubana.

Sammich

This sandwich shop on West Queen West near Trinity Bellwoods closed at the start of this year, only four months after opening.

Game of Cheese

Having opened in May, this lactose-loving Asian fusion restaurant in Richmond Hill closed this month, less than a year later. It's going to turn into another location for Dagu Rice Noodle.

Lead photo by

Jesse Milns at Silo 13


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