Major Toronto festival cancelled as vendors claim they're owed millions

The company behind a major annual Toronto food and drink festival just filed for bankruptcy, and vendors tell blogTO they're still owed money from last year's event.

From the Oshawa Rotary Ribfest to VegTO, the 2026 food festival season in Toronto is shaping up to be more defined by which festivals didn't happen than those that did. The latest to join the cancelled club? Toronto's Festival of Beer (TFoB).

But, while other events have been cancelled for reasons of dwindling financial backing or logistical complications, TFoB has a much bigger pint to pour, as Beerlicious Inc., the company behind the festival, officially enters bankruptcy.

Helmed by President Les Murray, TFoB has been an annual marquee event for independent brewers and their fans for nearly 30 years, held each summer at the Exhibition Grounds, but according to some of the festival's past vendors, cracks were already beginning to show before the company's April 13 filing.

Vendors seek compensation

Ami DiPasquale, owner of Etobicoke's Heirloom Toronto Food Truck, tells blogTO that she's grown extremely selective about the festivals her business participates in, opting instead to prioritize catering opportunities, but TFoB is one festival she's vended at for nearly a decade.

"We had a pretty good relationship with that festival, and never really had a lot of problems," DiPasquale tells blogTO. "We were always pretty busy, and there were always kind of big concerts there."

Approaching the 2025 festival, she says, she got the sense that the foundation of the festival was changing, but she was assured by Murray that there would be a guaranteed payout, as one day of the entire festival had been bought out by an organization. DiPasquale's chef-driven food truck churned out 1000 portions of food for that day alone. She thought it was a sure thing.

The real trouble began after the festival wrapped. DiPasquale explains that food vendors at the festival accepted traditional cash payments and payment through festival tokens, while beverage vendors exclusively accepted tokens. Following the festival, vendors would cash in their tokens for a payout from Beerlicious.

DiPasquale tells blogTO she was owed around $650 for her token redemption, on top of the fee for her 1000-portion catering, but after submitting her invoice, the payout never came.

"We submitted the invoice for the catering, and we have a signed copy of the redemption of the tokens that are counted at the end of the festival. Time went on, you know, a couple of weeks, and we weren't getting the payment for the catering. We were getting a little worried," she says.

DiPasquale tells blogTO that the last time she heard from Murray was in September 2025, when he promised a payment was on its way. 

"He said it's going to be there within a couple weeks, to keep an eye out. That was the last time I actually physically heard from him, and then in November, still no payment. So I sent a demand letter from a lawyer. Nothing. Haven't heard a word from him. So to make my point, I served him legally three times, and he didn't respond," she says.

DiPasquale isn't alone. Jessica Kowalik, co-founder and owner of Niagara's Nomxd Brew Co., entered TFoB for the first time in 2025. 

"We were really excited"

"As beer lovers, we had previously attended TFoB as patrons, so we were really excited to attend the event as a vendor that year," she tells blogTO. Today, she claims she's owed a total of $2170 in drink tokens, her contract for the event allegedly stating she'd be paid back within 60 days of the event.

An anonymous Reddit user claims they're owed over $5000 by the festival. Though a majority of the documents of Beerlicious Inc.'s bankruptcy filing are not yet publicly available, DiPasquale estimates that Murray owes more than $2 million to over 70 vendors from the 2025 festival alone.

In DiPasquale, Kowalik, and even the Reddit user's accounts, common themes arise: frustration, hopelessness and a newfound feeling of being jaded against attending other festivals in the future.

"I found out last week about the bankruptcy filings, actually from another vendor. We have still not received any information from Beerlicious or Murray regarding payment or any of this recent news. Knowing the full extent of the company's debts has made us feel hopeless about any sort of payment," Kowalik tells blogTO.

"I have now accepted it, but I know that it takes a while to claim bankruptcy. I think it takes eight months or something, so basically, like, when he was telling me that my money was coming, he knew it wasn't coming, right? So I just wish he would have been honest," DiPasquale says, adding that "worried that he might do this to other people."

Proceedings are ongoing

In a statement made to blogTO, Murray confirms that Beerlicious has, indeed, entered bankruptcy.

"Beerlicious Inc. has now entered a formal process under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act to address its financial obligations following a very challenging post-pandemic period for independent live event producers," he writes.

Murray goes on to explain that the process is "intended to ensure that all creditor claims are handled in a structured and transparent manner in accordance with the law."

Murray does acknowledge the significant impact that the festival's financial troubles have had on its vendors, noting that Beerlicious Inc. "doesn't take that lightly," but notes that the outcome of the company's filings will determine whether any recoveries can be made.

"[Our vendors'] support, collaboration and commitment have been foundational, and it has been a true privilege to work alongside them," Murray says.