Popular neighbourhood restaurant in Toronto finds new home after eviction
After getting evicted from its home of several years, a popular neighbourhood restaurant in Toronto is finally getting a second lease on life.
"Eviction by extortion," read a since-deleted Instagram post from Leslieville fried chicken restaurant Daddy's Chicken in early 2026, showing screenshots from the restaurant's landlord demanding $700 from their tenants to repair a faulty furnace.
Unwilling to cough up the cash (which, according to the Commercial Tenancies Act, it's unclear whether they were legally obligated to or not), the team at Daddy's Chicken refused and were served an eviction notice in response.
On April 1, the restaurant took to Instagram again to announce that it had "served its last piece" indefinitely, as the team endeavoured to find a new location to call home.
But, in just four short years, the restaurant had quickly cemented itself as a local staple, evidenced by the distraught comments left by its many fans when the restaurant closed, and, if there's one thing we know about beloved local restaurants in Toronto, it's that they can always make a comeback.
Three months after closing its brick-and-mortar, it can officially be said that that statement is also true of Daddy's Chicken, as the restaurant has now set up shop just a few blocks west of its original home, remaining within the confines of Leslieville.
Nowadays, you can find Daddy's Chicken cozied up with Wei Bar at the corner of Queen East and Boston Avenue from 5 p.m. to 12 a.m., Thursday through Monday.
There must be something in the air these days, because another popular restaurant concept that similarly had to close due to landlord woes also just made a comeback with the help of a local bar.
If you ask me, a sky-high fried chicken sandwich smack-dab in the middle of a night of drinking is the closest a person can come to seeing the pearly gates while still walking the mortal plane. So, in other words, Daddy's Chicken and Wei Bar might just prove to be a match made in heaven.
If you don't want to eat your chicken at the bar, you can also order ahead for pick-up through Daddy's website, or for delivery on Uber Eats and DoorDash.
Daddy's Chicken and Wei Bar are located at 1014 Queen St. E.
