Toronto restaurant closing after 10 years because it doesn't want to raise prices
A popular Toronto restaurant is closing both of its locations permanently after a decade of slinging some of the best fried chicken in the city.
For a city whose food scene has a reputation for — above almost anything else —variety, fried chicken is decidedly harder to find. I'm talking about good, fresh fried chicken, served at a place specifically devoted to battering and deep-frying thighs, drumsticks and tenders.
With recent closures like that of Daddy's Chicken and Joe Bird, it's not getting any easier, and another beloved fried chicken joint, which boasts two locations in the city, just announced it's about to close up shop, too.
After a decade in business, PG Clucks owners Pawel and Steph Grezlikowski took to Instagram on Thursday, July 9, to announce that their College Street location is now immediately closed, with their Queen West location slated to follow suit at the end of the month.
"After 10 years of slinging Toronto's favourite chicken sandwiches, the time has come to turn off the fryers. We've made the incredibly difficult decision to close PG Clucks," Pawel and Steph write in the caption of the post.
They go on to get candid about the reasoning behind the tough decision: "The reality is that we can't continue to offer our huge sandwiches at current prices, and we're not interested in selling takeout chicken sandwiches for $15+."
It's a sentiment that's been echoed by restaurants and bars of all shapes and sizes in recent years. Operational costs only continue to rise, and the willingness of customers to accept inflation can only be stretched so far, no matter how much they'd like to support their favourite businesses.
It's not all bad news, though. From the ashes of PG Clucks will rise a phoenix in the form of a new concept from Pawel and Steph called Loomi Pita. The self-proclaimed "world's smallest pita bakery" will revolve around baked-to-order "organic, long-fermented pitas," served alongside dips, housemade pickles, falafel, schnitzel and a whole lot more.
It's a pretty significant divergence from the crispy, juicy foundation the duo built their empire on, but, if I'm being honest, it has my stomach grumbling just thinking about it.
There's no word yet on when Loomi Pita will open, but according to Pawel and Steph, it's "coming soon."
In the meantime, you'll have until July 25 to pick up one last PG Clucks sandwich at 1112 Queen St. W. before they're gone for good.
Hector Vasquez
