McDonald's to take over Toronto property that once housed an iconic Jamaican spot

Fast food juggernaut McDonald's is gearing up to paint yet another storied Toronto restaurant location in shades of red and yellow.

McDonald's is on a veritable warpath across Toronto right now. The chain, which boasted no small number of locations in the city to begin with, has been expanding like crazy, with locations already confirmed for the Junction, Mirvish Village and Yorkville, to name only a few.

Pretty soon, there won't be a single postal code in the city without an associated McDonald's location, and that's exactly what The Man (being Ronald McDonald) wants.

It's not just that McDonald's is opening new locations in the city, though, but that it seems to be systematically taking over notable, identifiable and even, in some cases, historic properties. The Man wants you to see the city's most iconic intersections and stunning buildings and get an immediate hankering for McNuggets.

Joke's on him: I'm always hankering for McNuggets.

I digress. The latest major location to be revealed for the chain is following the legendary locale formula, slated to move in at the southeast corner of Queen and Broadview or, for those in the know, the former home of The Real Jerk.

Building applications confirm that the spacious restaurant space at 709 Queen St. E. is due to become a new McDonald's location with seating for more than 30 people. A truly expansive address, the new Riverside McDonald's might just prove to be one of the chain's larger properties in the city.

The corner lot has seen a lot of change over the past few decades. For 22 years, the space was home to the city's beloved Real Jerk Restaurant, before it was forced to close (and later come back at Gerrard and Carlaw) in 2012. Later, Brickworks Ciderhouse operated in the space for six years before it, too, closed in 2024.

Most recently, the location housed Duke's Refresher, the short-lived sister location to a St. Lawrence Market bar that closed after less than a year in business.

Will McDonald's prove to have the same staying power as (some of) the building's former residents? Or will it be yet another flash in the pan, opening the space up once more for an independent venture to take it over? Selfishly, I can only hope for the latter, although I am going to have to address that McNugget craving sooner or later...