Hip Toronto wine bar holding massive clearance sale before permanently closing
A game-changing Toronto business that was born during the dark times is winding down operations at its stylized bar space on Dundas West, no doubt disappointing locals who've made it a hot cinq à sept destination.
Grape Crush, for those unaware, is a wine bar and bottle shop that replaced the highly-photogenic SoSo Restaurant at 1116 Dundas St. W. (just west of Ossington) in 2020.
"At the end of August, we will be saying farewell to our Dundas West spot so EVERYTHING MUST GO. Everything in the store is included in our BIGGEST SALE EVER!" reads the caption of an Instagram post published by Grape Crush this week.
"Use promo code 'CRUSH10' for 10% off across the entire shop. Promotion is also valid in store and we'd love to see your faces one last time at 1166 before closing the doors!"
While the store may reopen somewhere else or in a different form down the road, no concrete plans for an immediate revival are in the works.
"We have no location backup so it is goodbye for now," reads the Instagram announcement. "This has been a hell of a ride and thank you to all of you for making our COVID years more bearable!"
Operations Manager Chelsea Lawrence tells blogTO that Grape Crush started as a wine event series in 2019, eventually expanding to have its own bottle shop during COVID lockdowns.
"Now we're taking a break to work on future projects and can't wait to see everyone again soon," she said, calling the store's closure "a bummer" but noting that "it's been such a fun ride."
"We'll be going out with a bang as we're hosting a wine tasting event/party called Splash Dance on Thursday, August 18."
The idea behind Grape Crush when it started as an event series was to give wine lovers access to products previously available only to restaurants.
When the bar opened, this idea carried forward to feature "limited release gems, as well as selections from up and coming local wineries" in a real life wine bar setting.
Located in the Heart of DuWest with a nice patio, a seriously cool interior, and from the same team behind hot spots like Miss Thing's and Otto's Bierhalle, Grape Crush has proven popular among oenophiles and casual drink-seekers alike.
It'll be missed, to be certain, but the big closing sale should provide some comfort to those who love wine and steep discounts.
