Toronto seafood restaurant that's been open since 1982 has permanently closed

A legendary Toronto seafood restaurant known for lobster has quietly closed down permanently after being in business since 1982.

Wah Sing has been a staple of Baldwin Village for decades, famous for their two-for-one lobster specials. Close to the AGO and U of T, it's been a go-to for tourists and locals alike.

Now, the restaurant stands vacant and a for lease sign hangs in the window.

There was no formal announcement of the restaurant's closure after so many years, but as people have been noticing that the restaurant has been closed, Monty Choy of Wah Sing says he's been flooded with shocked emails and messages.

That includes one letter he says was very long, saying three generations of the same family had been going there and they wouldn't have the same lobster again in their entire life, as there's nobody else like Wah Sing.

"We tried for three years and we did the best we could. With all the years of experience we thought we could get through this, but downtown has changed so much, the demographic," Choy tells blogTO. 

"The main reason why it killed it us, was obviously rent, we had a rent increase. The traffic was horrendous, the closure of streets around us. We're blocked in by demonstrations, construction, parades. We tried and there's no way we can sustain it."

Choy says the space is still vacant and he's not sure what's happening to it yet, but estimates that he thinks around half the businesses on Baldwin surrounding Wah Sing have shuttered in recent years.

Choy loves how was able to "grow with the customer" over his time at Wah Sing and hopes to maybe one day open a pop-up shop that might be exclusively for takeout lobster, with a limited number of orders available.

The last day open for Wah Sing was December 31, 2022.