It’s a story as old as time: neighbourhood begets bar, bar begets club, club begets drunken patrons, drunken patrons beget late-night disturbances and disturbances beget neighbourhood dismay. And right now, that’s the story of Parkdale, where the continued popularity (I’ll spare you the “G” word) of the neighbourhood’s Queen Street strip has many residents fearing that their community is turning into an entertainment district. Much of the concern stems from the presence of Wrongbar — a spacious and hip venue, perfectly suited to indie-rock shows and celebrity DJ gigs alike, that opened in 2007.
The problem, as Parkdale-High Park councillor Gord Perks explains, is that “Queen Street through Parkdale is not [zoned as] an entertainment district. It’s a district where you are permitted to put a restaurant but not a nightclub. And for the last several years, Wrongbar has been behaving as a nightclub.” As new nightspots like Parts & Labour are setting up shop in Parkdale, Wrongbar, as well as its neighbor Stone’s Place, is applying to increase its capacity at a hearing with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario to be held tomorrow (June 1).
The fact is that Wrongbar is licensed to be a restaurant, not a nightclub. But Perks says that since the venue is only open from 10pm until 3am and doesn’t serve food — combined with the regular lineups outside and the inevitable, post-2am surge of party people spilling out onto the street — it’s not the sort of environment you’d expect from a restaurant. “Parkdale is a very complex social mix. Bringing party tourists into the neighbourhood late at night really upsets that complex and delicate mix.”
Aside from the drunken disturbances, residents (who wish to remain nameless) opposing the Wrongbar bid are concerned that if these bars are allowed to bring in more people, the total capacity of Queen West between Gwynne Avenue and Elm Grove Avenue (a distance of just over 100m) would be something like 3,000 patrons. It’s not that they don’t like music or bars in the neighbourhood, I’m told, it’s just that there needs to be a balance.
Since applying for the increase, Wrongbar owner Nav Sangha has been busy trying to address these concerns: “[Perks] wants me to blend into the community more like the way Cadillac Lounge and Mitzi’s Sister are, and focus more on the restaurant side. So I’m doing that in good faith. We’ve got a full-time chef and we’ve launched a new menu. I’m totally hearing what Gord’s concerns are. If people want me to adapt, then I’m going to do that. I owe them that.” Sangha adds that he’s already added more seating, changed his beer delivery so as not to block the back alley and forced his security guards to be stricter out front.
Perks’ solution — in the event that Wrongbar gets its increase — is to attach a number of conditions to the bar’s liquor license. “The consequences of violating Municipal Licensing and Standards [who can only enforce the terms of the club’s restaurant licence] is a fairly small fine, whereas the consequence of violating your liquor licence is that you lose that licence and your business stops,” he explains.
Sangha sees this whole process as beneficial, regardless of what happens with his application. “I’ll just keep doing what I’m doing here and try and prove that I’ve got [the community’s] interests at heart, too. I’ll adapt and reshape and try to make them happy. I’m not going anywhere. I’m committed to making it work.”
Time will tell whether that’s the kind of balance Parkdale residents are looking for.