Ezra’s Pound on Dundas West is being converted into a very on-trend hummus restaurant

Ezra’s Pound, the beloved indie café on Dundas West, will soon take on a totally new identity—one that will see it competing for brunch customers with nearby Saving Grace (which, judging by the usual Saturday morning lineups, could probably stand to lose a few loyalists). Owner Ezra Braves quietly closed the coffee shop earlier this year. When he reopens at the end of the month, the space will house a 20-seat restaurant with a cute patio and a menu devoted entirely to pulverized chickpeas.

Named S. Lefkowitz in honour of Braves’s grandfather, the hummus-focused restaurant will serve variations on the Middle Eastern spread, plus flatbreads and other dips. (The concept is popular in Akka, Israel, where beachfront hummusias are apparently a fixture). So far, the switch from indie coffeehouse to on-trend Mid East café is getting a spirited response: some love the idea, while others are mourning the loss of their favourite neighbourhood hangout.