Captain John asks his fans to help bail him out

In the latest episode of the ongoing saga of Captain John’s Seafood Restaurant, owner John Letnik has made the increasingly popular move of soliciting donations to save his iconic 42-year-old floating harbourfront restaurant. Letnik got into a dispute over taxes four years ago, and now owes more than $500,000 in back taxes and rent, a sum that led the city to cut off the water to his restaurant this summer, closing it down and effectively shutting off Letnik’s cash flow. In addition to donating, visitors to the Save Captain John! site are asked to sign a petition calling for the city, Waterfront Toronto and the Toronto Port Authority to “Stop the unfair treatment of John Letnik.” Though he’s been trying to sell the business since 2009, as Torontoist reports, buyers for an aging restaurant boat on a month-to-month lease with the city are in short supply. [Torontoist]