This adorable diner has moved into the old Grapefruit Moon space

Name: Daisy May’s Contact: 968 Bathurst St., @daisymays.to
Neighbourhood: The Annex
Owners: Theo Laan, Charlie Gabriel Chefs: Charlie Gabriel, Sam Spagn-Shepherd Accessibility: Fully accessible

Charlie Gabriel and Theo Laan first met when they were students at the University of Guelph. Laan was studying criminal justice and political science; Gabriel was completing a master’s in French literature, followed by a master’s in education. They both worked in restaurants to pay the bills, catching the hospitality bug along the way.

“I’ve cooked since I was a kid,” says Laan, who developed the menu with Gabriel. “My dad was a terrible cook—all he could do was boil chicken. I was shredded because all I ate was protein, but eventually I just wanted to eat good food.” After teaching himself to cook by watching TV shows and flipping through cookbooks, Laan went on to work in kitchens across Toronto, including El Pocho, the Mexican spot next door to Daisy May’s, where Gabriel worked front of house.

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“After living with Theo and watching him work, I got really interested in the kitchen,” says Gabriel. “I started cooking at home, hosting backyard barbecues for friends and pestering the El Pocho chefs with a million questions until they finally put me on the line.”

Before the space became available, Laan had been planning a project with El Pocho’s owner, Cesar Ramirez. But, when Laan decided to take on the former Grapefruit Moon location, Ramirez backed out, citing too many issues with the building. “He wasn’t wrong,” says Laan. “But Charlie—who had been cooking at El Pocho for two and a half years by then—wanted in, so we teamed up.”

Now, the business partners have switched hats: Gabriel runs the kitchen alongside sous-chef Sam Spagn-Shepherd while Laan manages the front with his fiancée, Julia McDowell, and Gabriel’s partner of 11 years, Dubravka Zivkovic.

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“I come from a blue-collar family,” says Laan. “My stepdad’s a home builder, and I worked for him my whole life. Together, with Charlie and help from my stepbrother, we renovated every inch of this place ourselves. There were nights when my stepbrother slept in the walk-in fridge because he commuted from Hamilton to help us. It’s been a labour of love.”

The restaurant is named after Laan’s grandmother, “a one-legged tough cookie” from upstate New York who cruised around on a scooter with her dog. And while Gabriel handles the back of house, the menu is rooted in Laan’s blue-collar ethos. “We’re not trying to make anything fancy,” he says. “We just want to cook food that we never get tired of eating.”

The Food

The menu features slightly zhuzhed-up diner fare with a few dishes grandma Daisy May might teasingly call “fancy.”

Corn fritters are punched up with manchego, chive, roasted poblano, grilled corn, hot honey and house ranch. A clubhouse sandwich is stacked with balsamic-glazed grilled chicken, bacon, bruschetta filling, Calabrian chili aïoli, red lettuce and provolone. Steak frites come with melty compound butter, and grilled Ba Noi sourdough is slathered with whipped ricotta, then crowned with poached eggs, sautéed mushrooms and pine nuts.

Right now it’s just lunch and brunch, but the team plans on introducing dinner service in the coming months.

The Drinks

In keeping with a philosophy Laan describes as “stuff that we would like to drink,” the cocktail list includes a boozy Southern sweet tea (Daisy May’s go-to), a piña colada on the rocks and Zivkovic’s favourite afternoon treat, the Blackbird, a slow-sipping blend of amaro and bourbon (or the closest Canadian-made substitution). The streamlined rotating wine list avoids allegiance to any one region or grape.

“We want to be true to ourselves,” says Zivkovic. “I’m always hunting for under-the-radar finds that are both drinkable and affordable.”

The Space

With hand-sewn vintage fabric curtains, upcycled church pews doubling as banquettes, ’70s light fixtures, and even a bar and bench Laan carved from a pine tree, the space screams neighbourhood gem. It’s the kind of cozy that makes you feel at home the moment you walk in. Daisy May would be proud.