Long-anticipated Toronto burger shop already up for lease despite never opening

Locals in one Toronto neighbourhood have been waiting for a certain unique burger joint to finally open its doors, but as "For Lease" signs now appear outside the restaurant, it looks like it might just be dead on arrival.

My past life as an enthusiastic vegan has already been well-documented, so I won't bore you by waxing poetic on soy burger patties and seitan chicken nuggets. But what I will say is, as far as the plant-based fast food world goes, London, Ontario's Odd Burger has dominated the scene for the past decade.

Known for its extensive menu of vegan-ified takes on fast-food favourites, including burgers, "ChickUN" sandwiches, wraps, milkshakes and breakfast, the chain has been in what appears to be a perpetual state of flux ever since opening its first brick-and-mortar — and one of Canada's first vegan fast-food restaurants — in 2017.

Locations quickly popped up in Toronto, including the most recent addition, a location at 229 Church St. that opened in November of 2024.

For years, though, there's been an anticipated outpost stalled out at 731 Broadview Ave. — where Odd Burger branding is installed and windows are papered — that's had local plant-based food fans frothing at the mouth.

Originally announced in 2020, the location has been hanging in limbo for five years. Now, it looks like it won't be opening at all, as signage advertising the space for lease has popped up out front, and a listing for the address can already be found online.

A representative from Odd Burger confirms that the Broadview location has, in fact, been tabled, though they remain tight-lipped about the reasons behind the project's eventual cancellation.

"We faced serious development challenges at the Broadview location for many years and, unfortunately, we were unable to overcome them," a representative from Odd Burger tells us, without going further into what, exactly, those challenges were.

This isn't the only time Odd Burger has run into trouble in the past year, either.

In September of 2024, the company reported a net loss of $120,000 during Q3, despite also recording its highest quarterly revenue at the time.

Regardless of the loss, James McInnes, the restaurant's co-founder and CEO, held fast that the chain was committed to expanding further. But, in March of 2025, the brand scrapped plans to embark on a U.S. expansion amid tariff tensions south of the border.

Still, despite the challenges, Odd Burger does appear to be on the up and up. They've recently partnered up with 7-Eleven to carry their plant-based retail products in over 500 locations of the convenience chain across Canada, starting in mid-June.

So, while residents of the Danforth area won't be able to get their Crispy ChickUN Fillet or Smash Burgers hot off the press at a brick-and-mortar location, they need only venture to their nearest 7-Eleven to find them.

That, or they could visit any of Odd Burger's three other Toronto locations, which reside on Church Street, College Street and Kingston Road.

Odd Burger currently operates 17 locations and two food trucks across Canada.