Toronto dive bar suddenly shuts down and is already getting replaced

A Toronto dive bar that was a quintessential party pad for nearly a decade has closed permanently — but there's already a new concept ready to take over.

The corporate-owned faux-dive-bar trend may have hit its peak in Toronto in the late 2010s, thanks to the general fervour around spots like El Furniture Warehouse (and its sisters on Queen West and Yonge), driving appetites for multicoloured Christmas lights and bulldog margaritas.

Still, while that type of bar is, dare I say, not as cool as it was once considered, such properties have hardly suffered a dip in business. Up until it quietly closed its doors in the fall of 2025, Queen West's The Dime was one such establishment.

Created by the same team behind the Warehouse empire, the bar took the form of a carefully curated rough-and-tumble dive bar, with raw wood and — you guessed it — plenty of string lights of all shapes and sizes. 

For nearly a decade, the bar was an easy answer for a night out, but alas, no longer.

On the bright side, vacant spaces don't last long in this city, and The Dime's former home has already been snapped up by a promising team with a concept launching very, very soon.

Opening on Thursday, Oct. 16, the new chapter for the bar at 538 Queen St. W. is named One Star Bar, and it's coming to us from Mike Taylor, the founder of Dundas West's Wasted Youth.

"I have a friend in commercial real estate, and he got word [The Dime's team was] looking to move the space privately [...], and knew I was in the market for expansion from Wasted Youth Bar," Taylor tells blogTO.

Taylor says that he and his team had been casually looking for the right space for a few years, and "this one got that fire in me."

Having spent plenty of time on Queen West during his own youth, Taylor holds a tender spot for the area in his heart.

He's watched all the ways the scene has metamorphosed over the years, he tells blogTO, but has remained cognizant of the fact that the appetites of partygoers on Queen West differ significantly from those who flock a few blocks south to the trim and tinsel of King West.

Enter One Star Bar, which Taylor describes as "a perfect opportunity to bring some divey goodness back to Queen."

Wasted Youth's distinct brand of cheap beers and cocktails has proven a hit in the city for nearly the past decade, and Taylor plans to bring that same casual, community-driven atmosphere to the neighbourhood with One Star, elevating it with a full food service and expanded cocktail program.

"We are slinging Hot Dogs and Frito Pies along with a few other delicious fan favourites all for reasonable prices," Taylor tells blogTO.

"Times are tough out there, and I have always believed that even during the hard times, people need places to find their community and let their hair down after overworking every day to survive in this city."

In short, One Star Bar's modus operandi is "chill, cheap and a little cheesy," in an entirely genuine way. It's something that I, for one, can most certainly get behind — and not just because it's cheap.

Did I mention that they've also got free Big Buck Hunter? Now that's ​​​​​​how you do a dive bar.

At the time of publication, One Star Bar is open from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. on weekdays and 12 p.m. to 2 a.m. on weekends.