Caplansky's Deli suddenly closes on College St.

The much-loved Caplansky's Deli on College Street shut its doors for good this week after more than a decade of smoked meat supremacy.

Sorry Beyoncé. Sorry Geddy Lee. Sorry, people of Toronto. I know. It sucks.

Owner Zane Caplansky announced the news on Facebook and Twitter yesterday by sharing a sign he'd posted in the restaurant's window.

"I am heartbroken to announce that this, our first deli location, is closed," it reads. "I am making this decision with tremendous sadness and reluctance. I have spent ten years of my life bringing traditional deli to Toronto."

College St is closed. pic.twitter.com/VebuOkx5K1

— Caplansky (@Caplansky) January 3, 2018

Caplansky wrote that, while staff and managers at his delicatessen "could not have been better," the business had been struggling after a 2016 dispute (and subsequent legal battle) with the building's landlord.

"The deli fought to regain the business we lost after the landlord locked these doors without warning in 2016," he explained. "We never really recovered from that blow."

The popular deli's College Street location, opened in 2007, is now closed – but there's good news for Toronto's legions of hardcore Caplansky's fans.

The deli's Yorkville and Pearson International Airport locations will remain open, as will the company's wildly successful food truck.

Caplansky says he will direct his short-term efforts toward ensuring that the other arms of his business "continue to have access to the high quality Caplansky’s deli products" that people in Toronto and beyond can't get enough of.