The Bloordale Pantry closes, is quickly replaced by The Whippoorwill Restaurant and Tavern
In a 10-day Restaurant Makeover-ish blitz, friends Shawn Creamer (Dakota Tavern) and Tyler Cunningham (Ultra) have taken over and transformed the homey Bloordale Pantry into the trendier Whippoorwill Restaurant and Tavern (consider it Bloordale’s second wave of gentrification). A regular at the Pantry, Creamer told us that he would often half-jokingly offer to take over the space from its owners, Rose Guarnieri and Anthony Menna. Eventually, the half-joke became a deal.
Like the Pantry, brunch is the Whip’s current focus, but Creamer and Cunningham are aiming for an all-day vibe and will soon offer dinner, happy hour and late-night options, making the place equal parts restaurant, bar and breakfast destination (they’ve posted their breakfast menu on Twitter). In keeping with the city’s ascendant farm-to-table ethos, everything is made in-house, including sausages and house-cured, cut-to-order bacon. Oh, and fans of the old staff need’t worry: they’re all still there.
The Whippoorwill Restaurant and Tavern, 1285 Bloor St. W., @WhippoorwillTO
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