Adam Vaughan proposes a Parkdale-style bar ban on Kensington Market
Once quaint and charmingly grungy Kensington is rapidly gentrifying. New gourmet food shops, including Thomas Lavers, Hooked and the refurbished Sanagan’s, are bringing in an artisanal ethos; new indie coffee houses are popping up alongside neighbourhood spots; and trendy new bars and restaurants, like Via Mercanti, Thirsty and Miserable and Cold Tea, are bringing with them a boozy evening social scene that’s troubling residents, and Adam Vaughan. His objection: the influx of watering holes could drive up rents and force out the market’s mom-and-pop food stands. The city councillor is currently advocating for a staff report on the feasibility of restricting the number of new food-and-drink spaces, something similar to the restaurant moratorium in Parkdale, which could soon become permanent. Of course, Vaughan had to make the point with his standard rhetorical swagger: he equated evil bars to evil Walmart and dubbed the transforming market the “Kensington Entertainment District.” [CBC]
![](http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https://torontolife.com/food/adam-vaughan-proposes-kensington-bar-ban/&title=Adam Vaughan proposes a Parkdale-style bar ban on Kensington Market&picture=https://torontolife.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Adam-Vaughan.jpg&description=[caption id="attachment_219809" align="alignright" width="260"] (Image: BriYYZ)[/caption]
Once quaint and charmingly grungy Kensington is rapidly gentrifying. New gourmet food shops, including Thomas Lavers, Hooked and the refurbished Sanagan’s, are bringing in an artisanal ethos; new indie coffee houses are popping up alongside neighbourhood spots; and trendy new bars and restaurants, like Via Mercanti, Thirsty and Miserable and Cold Tea, are bringing with them a boozy evening social scene that’s troubling residents, and Adam Vaughan. His objection: the influx of watering holes could drive up rents and force out the market’s mom-and-pop food stands. The city councillor is currently advocating for a staff report on the feasibility of restricting the number of new food-and-drink spaces, something similar to the restaurant moratorium in Parkdale, which could soon become permanent. Of course, Vaughan had to make the point with his standard rhetorical swagger: he equated evil bars to evil Walmart and dubbed the transforming market the “Kensington Entertainment District.” [CBC]){kind=link}
Adam Vaughan vs. Fun in the City, Part 2893. Time to boot Daddy from office.
I consider myself fairly left wing but I think Adam Vaughan is a huge moron.
what is moronic is not realising that bans like this may sound like “downers” to those who arent considering the situation beyond a selfish desire for more gourmet hotdogs , but in actuality a ban like this , as mentioned above , is NECESSARY in order to maintain the intimacy and original fabric of certain neighbourhoods . DUH . its simple ; its to keep the rents low enough to prevent the new businesses from driving out the old ones
Actually the new businesses are providing business for the old businesses. These restaurants have to buy nuts and bolts from somewhere. I really don’t think it is “selfish” to want to eat at vibrant restaurants. I guess there are a lot of “selfish” people at Yonge and Eglinton, and further east on Queen Street. A whole bunch of selfish gourmet hotdog eating goes on there.
Getting tired of Adam Vaughan. Instead of coming up with great ideas, he either opposes good ideas or comes up with really stupid ideas.