Beloved Toronto bar is closing after 10 years and regulars are devastated
A Toronto bar has just announced it will be closing at the end of the year, and regulars are distraught.
Located in the Junction Triangle, The Gaslight became a neighbourhood favourite and local watering hole over the course of its near decade in business.
Started by business- and real-life partners Megan Jones and Tim Pritchard, the bar was a much-needed breath of life into a then-barren Junction Triangle neighbourhood, prompting a slew of new businesses to open around it in the decade since.
The bar played host to a number of community events, like Tuesday Trivia and weekly Sunday night live music, and, with it, grew a devoted following of regulars.
The announcement of the closure came via an Instagram post on the bar's account Friday night.
"It's hard for us to write what The Gaslight has meant to us and our staff over the last decade so we won't even begin to write it here but what is more important is that we get to say Thank you," the caption reads.
The comment section of the post was quickly flooded with messages of support and, of course, disappointment, from the bar's many adoring fans.
"[T]his bar saved me in ways [I] can't describe," writes one commenter, while another says the Gaslight "created a magical home away from home, giving an HQ for a community without one."
Even other businesses came out to voice their support. Grey Tiger, a cocktail bar in Bloordale Village wrote "[w]e love you and have always recommended the Gaslight to our guests who ask us where to go for good vibes."
While news of the bar's closure is certainly a shock, they have plenty of events and celebrations planned through until the official closure (date to be announced) at the end of this year, so whether it's your first time or you're an avid regular, be sure to swing by the Gaslight this month for one last toast.
Jesse Milns
