'Economic conditions' and impending construction force Toronto bar to close after just over a year
A Toronto bar is closing permanently, a little over a year after opening, due to economic pressures and upcoming construction disruptions.
Duke’s Refresher, the arcade bar-lite chain by Service Inspired Restaurants (SIR), the hospitality team behind such hits as Scaddabush and Jack Astor’s, has existed in Toronto, in various capacities, for over a decade.
It once existed at the intersection of Yonge and Gerrard before moving to its popular St. Lawrence Market haunt and, in the spring of 2024, expanded eastward, taking over the Riverside location that, before Duke’s, housed the Brickworks Ciderhouse.
Before that, it was home to the original location of The Real Jerk. Some might call the space auspicious. Others could call it unlucky.
For the case of Duke’s, which opened for business in May of 2024, the location is, seemingly, the latter, as Service Inspired Restaurants confirms in a statement sent to Dished Toronto that Duke’s Refresher Riverside is slated to shutter this month.
“It is with great regret that we announce the closure of our Duke’s Refresher Riverside location effective Monday, Sept. 15,” the statement, signed by SIR CEO Peter Fowler and president and COO Paul J. Bognar, reads.
“The current economic conditions and forthcoming six-month closure of Queen Street have drastically altered our environment and put a great deal of stress on many businesses, including our own, and we have had no choice but to cease operations at this property.”
It’s no secret that plenty of businesses (and, heck, people, too) have found themselves under severe financial strain lately, particularly as trade uncertainties with the United States put an already unstable position on even rockier grounds.
Considering the thin margins restaurants operate on even in the best of times, it’s, unfortunately, becoming increasingly common to see them shutter as a result.
- You might also like:
- A Toronto barbecue prodigy opens his own restaurant this weekend
- New Toronto dumpling shop has a surprising connection with its biggest competitor
- Tim Hortons is dropping a new Thanksgiving sandwich across Canada
Coupled with planned construction on Queen Street East that’ll take over a stretch of the street between Broadview and Davies ā right in front of the bar ā and you’ve got a perfect storm that, in the case of Duke’s Refresher, just can’t be weathered.
On the bright side, you’ve still got a few days left to visit the Riverside location before it’s gone for good, and after that, Duke’s Refresher St. Lawrence Market remains alive and well.
Duke’s Refresher
Address:Ā 709 Queen St. E.
Phone:Ā 437-561-8652
Still hungry? Discover Dished Toronto on TikTok