New diner soon replacing longstanding Toronto brunch spot

A once-popular, now-shuttered Toronto brunch spot is getting replaced by a brand new old-school diner that's an ode to its owner's grandmother.

It's been around a year since Grapefruit Moon in the Annex served up its last brunch service, but the neighbourhood has been feeling the restaurant's absence steadily ever since.

Originally opening its doors in the late '90s, the restaurant, which didn't exclusively serve brunch, but was certainly known for it, served generations of hungry patrons for more than 25 years before quietly closing its doors in mid-2024, and the space it vacated at 968 Bathurst has been vacant ever since.

The windows have remained papered up, the quaint corner patio co-opted by passersby looking for a spot to sip the coffee they purchased elsewhere. To put it lightly, it's just been a little sad.

That's all about to change, though, as a brand-new business gears up to open there next month.

It's called Daisy May's, and, according to a post from co-owner Theo Laan in a local community Facebook group, it'll be an ode to his grandmother.

"Daisy May was my Grandma's name and she was the coolest," Theo, who is opening the restaurant alongside his partner, writes. "We’re opening our first restaurant in honor [sic] of her and everything she liked - diner food, sweets, and a nice wine/cocktail /beer every once in a while."

While the finer details about the restaurant, like what the menu will be or what it'll look like inside, have yet to be revealed, Theo does tease that the restaurant should be opening its doors by mid-June.

Being that Grapefruit Moon was such a cherished part of the community for so long, Theo notes that he and the team have taken care to preserve memories of the old spot, like old trinkets and even framed pictures of the original laminate flooring to remember it by.

At the end of the day, while losing a beloved haunt is always sad, it's never a bad thing to see a new business move into the neighbourhood, and Daisy May's might just prove to be the perfect blend of old and new to stand the test of time.