Legendary Toronto bar will soon be taken over by new concept from all-star team
Months after a beloved Toronto nightlife hub closed its doors, a new concept by a pair of revered local professionals is gearing up to move in.
Gone are the days when a restaurant, bar, or cafe had to choose one of those things to be. Nowadays, a swelling mass of the coolest spots in the city has a double life: restaurants that only do dinner service are cafes in the morning, and cafes turn into speakeasies at night.
I, for one, am in full support of it. When rent is as expensive as it is in this city, it's only logical to maximize your space's potential, and one of the city's most exciting upcoming concepts follows exactly that model.
Taking over the vacant space that most recently housed iconic Queen West speakeasy Cold Tea in early March, Cafe Gigi/The Dirty Laundry is a new dual-concept, where the spacious footprint will become home to both a European-style cafe and a high-volume cocktail bar serving Tex-Mex fare.
Though the loss of Cold Tea was met with outcry and despair from its fans the city over, I've got a hunch that Cafe Gigi and The Dirty Laundry might just fill the void, and you need look no further than the team behind them for proof.
Brought to us by Aldo Pescatore-Tardioli (formerly Executive Operations at La Carnita and Sweet Jesus) and Robin Goodfellow (founder of Prettyugly, Bar Raval and Harry's Charbroiled), the duo brings over 20 years each of hospitality experience to the venture.
Not for nothing, but those two decades of experience also happen to have provided the city with some of its buzziest spots, so the future looks bright.
Aldo tells blogTO that he and Robin, after collaborating on and off for years on a variety of pop-ups and brand activations, reconnected in 2022 with the shared goal of opening a new place in the city that was at once high-energy and accessible with a distinct soul.
"We spent nearly two years looking for a space where the economics actually worked — big enough to do volume and keep prices low, but small enough to still feel personal," Aldo explains. "The timing and the location had to be right."
Finally, they settled on the iconic location at the corner of Queen West and Northcote Ave., and Aldo tells blogTO, it "checks every box."
"The patio, aesthetic, visibility, and the neighbourhood all make it possible for us to operate the way we believe bars should operate right now—affordable, welcoming, and consistent all day. Not just a weekend destination," he explains.
Cafe Gigi will stand as a breezy, bright daytime destination, serving a full suite of coffee classics and a handful of signature creations with baked goods and, later in the day, a pintxo menu to be paired with light cocktails.
A larger portion of the space's footprint will be devoted to The Dirty Laundry, a lively bar and patio serving classic cocktails, "cheap and cheerful" beer and wine and Tex-Mex comfort food.
"We believe great food, great drinks, thoughtful service, and strong creative identity shouldn't be reserved for expensive rooms," Aldo tells blogTO.
"The Dirty Laundry is our way of blending cocktail nerdiness and high-end hospitality with the energy and ease of a great dive bar."
Even the name of The Dirty Laundry is a cheeky nod to quality free from pretension, calling back to the iconic three-Michelin-star French Laundry.
Taking over a space that meant so much to so many, Aldo tells blogTO, feels like a huge responsibility. But, he says, the weight of anticipation is made more manageable when paired with the excitement he and Robin feel about introducing the new venture to the city.
The lively downtown corner, they both feel, should be alive and vibrant at all times, every day of the week, and they're confident that Cafe Gigi and The Dirty Laundry can be the concepts to do it. I think I believe them.
Cafe Gigi and The Dirty Laundry will be located at 1186 Queen St. W.
Robin Goodfellow, photographed by Hector Vasquez at Pretty Ugly
