The way catering and restaurant veteran Ron Raymer tells it, he and Michael Kash came up with the concept for their new lobster and seafood house over a couple of bottles of Guinness. The two were brainstorming out a business and they settled on lobster. What good luck for all South Bayview and environs. This week Smoked and Cracked edges into its third month at 516 Mt. Pleasant Rd. We were there Monday to sample the Hot Lobster Roll and can mightily recommend it. Other members of the party equally enjoyed the Cold Lobster Roll. But there is a treasure of great dishes on the chalkboard. Pictured is a bowl of Clam Chowder for a lucky guest. The Smoked and Cracked team has a wide variety of services. Catering is second nature to them and with a week’s notice they will shuck, crack, boil, butter and whatever else your event to happy completion. It’s nice to see a couple of pros at work and there’s no doubt in our opinion that Smoked and Cracked will become a fixture in the neighborhood.
Dear old bungalows on Sutherland Drive
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For most of us its just a fact of life in Leaside (and adjoining areas). That’s the sale and demolition of 70 and 80-year-old bungalows to be replaced with more expensive two-storey homes. Contrary to some criticism, the replacement homes are not typically outrageously large. Most of them seem to fit the bill for modern family life. If they have a sameness, the trade in architectural aesthetic from those dear old bungalows seems a fair one. They are expensive, but the history of real estate is the struggle required to scratch together a down payment. Many astute homeowners, even those who must live through construction noise and dirt next door, will understand that the value of their homes is being increased. Most of us choose to think of this as simple economics rather than the worship of Mammon. In any case, it is happening again at 146 (left) and 151 Sutherland Drive south of Millwood Rd. It will be a busy Fall along this stretch of the street. Live streaming set for report in Sammy Yatim
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From YouTube: Newly released video shows the moments that preceded a fatal confrontation between a young man and a group of Toronto police officers on a downtown streetcar. The video shows the Dundas 505 streetcar coming to a halt, its passengers quickly exiting the vehicle and later the sight of 18-year-old Sammy Yatim falling to the floor when he was shot. The new video was captured on a security camera from a store facing the side of the streetcar where the doors were opening. It does not have audio.
Poll: Mayor Ford’s approval rating at 46%
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A poll done by Forum research shows that Mayor Rob Ford’s approval rating stands at 46%. That compares to a standing of 47% in a poll last month.
Bayview Ave. to be closed at River St. for 6 weeks
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Enbridge Gas has announced that the Bayview Ave. extension will be closed from River Street to Lower River Street for about six weeks beginning August 6. The stoppage will run from the River Street exit (left) down the length of Bayview past Gerrard, Dundas, Queen, King and Eastern to Lower River Street (right). Traffic will be re-routed. Work will be done on the Don Valley natural gas pipeline to avoid gas service disruption ahead of the fall heating season. For more information, visit www.enbridgeGas.com/donvalley or follow @enbridgegasnews on Twitter.
RioCan on track to acquire 1860 Bayview Ave.
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RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust has announced buoyant growth of 17% in operating funds from operations in first half of 2013 In its statement Wednesday morning RioCan, headquartered at Yonge St. and Eglinton ave. W., noted that it is still on track to purchase the development at 1860 Bayview Ave. at Broadway Ave. The statement says that Kingsett and Trinity Development Group “are currently developing a grocery-anchored centre on the site, and RioCan will acquire the site on a forward purchase basis in phases at an approximate purchase price of $58 million, at a capitalization rate of 5.4%. Once completed, the centre will consist of approximately 74,220 square feet of retail space and will be anchored by a 50,200 square foot Whole Foods. The initial acquisition is expected to close during the third quarter of 2013, with the remaining portions to be paid on an earn-out basis upon completion of the project.”
BMW i3 electric car will sell here for $44,950
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The BMW i3 electric car has been unveiled in Beijing, London and New York. It is a neat looking little car which is apparently set to go on sale in Canada in the first half of 2014 starting at $44,950. The CNET review on the left seems fairly impartial. The car is a bit pricey and is being sold with a lot of mumbo jumbo which make the company videos hard to take. One interesting feature referenced by a reviewer is the so-called “coach doors”. The company doesn’t mention these at all. It is a set of rear and front opening doors on each side. It seems as if the rear will not open without the front being opened first. That should save a lot of injuries. On the right, a video on the installation of a home charging station. We have no idea how easy it is to obtain or pay for such a device but we thought you would like to see it as a fulfillment, at least vicariously, of the electric car dream.
Nearly 30 percent regret sending tweets, posts
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It seems that nearly 30 percent of young people 18 to 34 who send messages and pictures on social media find themselves regretting it. So suggests a poll by what is called a legal information website FindLaw.com. The experience seems to mirror the same regret long-identified among e-mail users. The warning that “E-mail is forever” seems to apply. It’s a nice little irony that so much digital communication is erratic but that witless and embarrassing messages and pictures are there for the world.
Two elderly tenants remain at Talbot apartments
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Leaside resident Jade Jenkins has said that she will be representing two elderly tenants of the Talbot apartments on Bayview Ave. They are the only ones left in their units at the apartments. Dozens of tenants have left the historic apartment buildings over the summer in the face of an eviction campaign launched by the owners ADMNS Kelvingrove Inc. The apartments were built in 1939 and stretch along Bayview from Sutherland Drive to just north of Airdrie Drive. A Landlord and Tenant Board hearing will determine the eviction terms to be set for the aging tenants. It will convene on Tuesday, August 13, 2013 at 1.30 p.m. in Room D at 79 St. Clair Ave. E. ADMNS Kelvingrove is the administrative company which is controlled by the Manitoba Civil Service Superannuation Board in Winnipeg and is indirectly controlled by the NDP provincial government.
Bye Wally Crouter Lane: CFRB heads downtown
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NewsTalk 1010 will soon leave the corner of St.Clair Ave. and Yonge Street in Deer Park and move in with the likes of CP24 at 299 Queen St. East. This news has been winkled out by Globe and Mail writer Steve Ladurantaye and there does not appear to be any other service carrying the story at the time of this post. NewsTalk 1010 is silent on the subject. The station has been re-branded to news and talk formatting in recent years although its history is as a music and news voice. It has been at the present corner since the tower was built by Proctor and Gamble in a move uptown. P&G have long since gone further north. The move to Queen is on the decision of the station’s new owners, Bell Media. Yonge and St. Clair is deeply immersed in the history of CFRB. Many employees have lived nearby. A laneway from Yonge to the Alvin Ave. parking lot is named after legendary morning man Wally Crouter (lower inset). A history of CFRB
Cannes jewel heist imitates Hitchcock art
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As Riveria jewel robberies go it may not have had quite the appeal of John Robie’s adventures in To Catch A Thief. Neither was the young man who got away with $53 million in jewellery privileged to play kissy face with Grace Kelly. But for romantics, the extraordinary robbery yesterday at the Cannes Carlton Hotel recalls all the glamour of the suave cat burglar played by Cary Grant. Unlike the fictional Robie, today’s thief simply walked into a temporary jewellery exhibit and scooped up the gems. It happened in broad daylight and the media suggests there was close to no security. The Carlton is both the site of the annual film awards and the main locale for the 1955 Kelly-Grant epic. The film was produced by Alfred Hitchcock. Above, the trailer coyly entices Who Could Ask For Anything More? Grown up minds were intended to know what more might be asked and given. Teaopia on South Bayvew now closed
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| Clearing out at Teaopia |
The Teaopia store at 1592 Bayview Ave. is now closed and they were cleaning up Monday. The shop is for lease. It previously held the premises of the Tea Emporium. Teaopia locations have been slowly re-branded across Canada after being purchased last year by the enormous U.S. tea chain Teavana. Teavena was then purchased by Starbucks early in 2013. It appears the Teavana name will stick. Starbucks probably doesn’t want to mix tea and coffee. There are 50 Teavana (Teaopia) shops in Ontario. There are, however, only seven in Toronto. They are at Scotia Plaza, Queen West and Portland, Yorkdale, Brookfield Place on Bay Street, Fairview Mall, Holt Renfrew on Bloor and the Shops at Don Mills.