Here's what took over the long-vacant Silver Dollar Room space in Toronto

Once a longstanding indie concert venue, Toronto's Silver Dollar Room closed its doors back in 2017 to make way for a residential development at 484 Spadina Ave., dubbed Waverley, in honour of the notorious Hotel Waverly, which was demolished alongside the venue.

While a new venue space was constructed into the base of the new 15-storey complex built on the site in place of the Silver Dollar Room, complete with its preserved neon sign, live music fans hoping for the venue's revival were kept waiting as the plan ultimately fell apart due to a range of factors, which led to friction, failed negotiations, and even legal disputes. 

While the space sat vacant for several years, the developer, Fitzrovia, sought to bring back the venue as an entertainment space or restaurant under the name "Waverely Bar." Meanwhile, the Silver Dollar team relocated to Parkdale, where they have continued their operations since 2021 at 1371 Queen St. W.

Now, the historic Spadina location has a new lease on life as Dina's Tavern, a casual bar with live music every night from Monday to Saturday, late-night dance parties on the weekend, and a range of drink specials. 

On Jazz Rat Mondays, you can tune into live jazz music at the bar while sipping on $10 martinis, whereas on Thursdays, you can order Dina's Golden Ale for just $5. 

"The idea with the menu was to have something for everyone — you can order a nice martini, a cheap pitcher of beer, or one of Dina's Classics like the Diner Coffee Negroni, all at a reasonable price," said Nickie Minshall, who co-owns the bar along with Tasha Potter and Jesse Borg. 

In a few weeks, the bar will introduce swing dance nights every Tuesday, and while the focus is most definitely on live music and weekend DJs, you can still look forward to karaoke nights, comedy nights, drag shows, and more. 

The venue's significance is not lost on the owners and staff, many of whom grew up going to and even playing shows at the Silver Dollar.

"It's wild to be operating out of this iconic space — we're so happy to be bringing live music back to the room," Minshall told blogTO. "It's a real full circle moment. The community has been so supportive so far!" 

The bar's booker, Nick McKinlay, who has been playing music in Toronto for 17 years, also reflected on the necessity of small, independent music venues in the city. 

"A consensus amongst many of us in the scene is that Toronto is sorely lacking smaller capacity venues — places where musicians, both new and seasoned, can develop and work. The goal at Dina's is to provide a low-barrier live music experience for the audiences and artists alike," McKinlay said. 

"Keep the town vibrant and keep the town rockin', y'know?" 

Dina's Tavern is located at 486 Spadina Ave.