Toronto’s most Canadian bar is closing for good, four months after its rebranded reopening.
The pop-up Grizzly Bar shared the news in an Instagram post on Friday and explained that the space would be reverting back to Offworld, the space-themed watering hole that the Grizzly Bar replaced, as a last hurrah.
“Offworld was the beginning. Grizzly came after. Now, the entire vessel is shutting down. No new mission, no new theme. Just one last flight before the stars dim for good,” the post read.
Co-owner Jessica Langer Kapalka and her husband Jason temporarily changed the bar to its Canadian theme in April as a response to souring trade relations with the United States and President Donald Trump’s persistent threats to annex America’s northern neighbour as the “51st state.”
“We wanted a place where people could be happy and excited about being Canadian,” Kapalka told the Star in April. “Canadianness goes beyond elections. It goes beyond whatever the current politics are. Being Canadian, it’s being part of a people. It’s being part of culture.”
The space was filled with iconic Canadian symbols, from vintage hockey skates to Team Canada memorabilia to prints of TTC streetcars. There was also a wall of Canadian heroes that featured icons such as Terry Fox, Celine Dion and David Suzuki. The menu also paid tribute to influential Canadians such as Chris Hadfield, who performed a Tragically Hip cover at the Grizzly Bar’s private opening.
The bar will be closing permanently on Aug. 24, with the Offworld farewell beginning on Aug. 13.
