In a two-part Instagram post, chef Matt Basile of Lisa Marie has announced that the bar will be closing.
April 14 will be the eatery’s last day of service, according to the posts.
“So many stories, so many memories, so many ups, and honestly a lot fucking downs [sic],” Basile wrote in part two of the post series, explaining the details on why the spot will be closing its doors.
After six years serving Queen West, and all of the restaurant’s fans from around the city, the post warns that there are only a couple weeks of mouthwatering meals left.
“When explaining to a friend recently, simply put, Ive put my entire life into this restaurant, now it’s time to take some of my life back,” Basile’s caption reads.
The posts explain that starting April 8, the entire last week of service will be all-day brunches leading up to the final service, which will be a proper Sunday brunch.
The caption also reads that the spot’s food truck and catering service are continuing and, in fact, soaring. Apparently, the spot’s partnering on a new space that will serve as a new home base and commissary.
“…thank you Lisa Marie, you taught me how to cook, like really really cook, how to be a boss, how to listen, how to be a business person, a manager of personalities and a believer that this industry deserves the respect we all work so hard for,” Basile wrote.
Hearts are breaking across the land, as we wonder where we’ll get our fill of Pad Thai fries.
“In closing, thank you all, Elvis has left the building…”
View this post on Instagram
1/2 Today. Waking up today just felt different for @kylazanardi and myself. Maybe because it was the final piece to a process that seemed like it was never ending. I’ve written this post in my head about 100 times but now that I’m actually tasked to write it, It seems less real. So here we go… After 6 absolutely amazing, memorable, impactful and collaborative years we have decided that the era of @BarLisaMarie has come an end. This decision was an incredibly difficult one, but after 6 years of putting everything into one project, the time has come to pivot that energy into different places. When explaining to a friend recently, simply put, Ive put my entire life into this restaurant, now it’s time to take some of my life back. Our last official day of service is April 14th, coincidentally 6 years from the day we opened. Services this week will remain normal but starting April 8th, our entire last week of service will be all-day brunches, day time, night time, and everything in between all brunch all the time right up until our final day of service ending on the most fitting, Sunday brunch. The good news, because I promise there is some, our Food Truck, catering and events division will not only continue but it has grown in ways we never thought possible. We are partnering on a space that will act as our new home base and commissary for all the events we do, and in fact we have recently formed some partnerships that will allow our Foodtruck to be out even more this year than in previous ones. As for what’s next, along with The continued growth of our catering and events business, we are excited to share that we are launching a new project with two amazing and intelligent people, @natashankpr and @a_mantella , of NKPR and @An8. I can’t share the specifics of the project just yet, but I can say it will be our biggest to date as it combines experiential food marketing, tech and digital content, and packaged goods around some our most popular items (cough, cough pad Thai fries) 6 incredible years, on Queen West no less. We never even planned on opening a restaurant, and inevitability became part of the 5% on Queen Street that survived beyond 2 years. So …
A post shared by Matt basile (@fidelgastros) on Apr 2, 2019 at 6:45am PDT
View this post on Instagram
2/2 So many stories, so many memories, so many ups, and honestly a lot fucking downs. I can say, that in the early years things started to make sense at Lisa Marie when we started to focus on building a community within our walls. Year over year we took the time to find the right people to care about what we did day in and day out. Our guests, who have become our friends, we could never ever have dreamed of a 6 year adventure without you. Thank you for brunching, for crushing meatballs, yelling bingo and O69, and putting up with our washroom doors that always seemed broken. To our staff, old and new, I hope You walked out our doors knowing more about the business and yourself than when you walked through them for the first time. Wherever you are or wherever you go we believe whole heartedly in your abilities to be successful. To our friends, the ones that have always been there. thank you for your patience, thank you for your understanding and thank you for being present for us, always. To my family, whether we bare the same last name or not, you have always been the glue that made our dream possible. We are excited to be able to repay you with our conviction, love and eternal gratitude. To @d_fins , thank you for a chance at building something completely different. And To @Kylazanardi, where do I even begin, forget the bullshit of you being the woman behind the man, fuck that noise. You are you, independently of me, someone who I constantly look up to, admire, learn from, and am inspired by. Together we move forward. Together we make shit happen. And lastly, thank you Lisa Marie, you taught me how to cook, like really really cook, how to be a boss, how to listen, how to be a business person, a manager of personalities and a believer that this industry deserves the respect we all work so hard for. You might have questions, and that’s totally cool, for media inquiries please contact [email protected] and I will be happy to. @torontolife @blogto In closing, thank you all, Elvis has left the building… Sincerely, chef (and I do mean chef) Matt Basile
A post shared by Matt basile (@fidelgastros) on Apr 2, 2019 at 6:46am PDT
