Gusto 101 is opening an east-side spin-off restaurant

Now that King Street West has morphed into a Vegas-style strip of plush clubs and trendy restaurants, culinary entrepreneurs are staking out new territories. Janet Zuccarini, owner of Gusto 101, is the latest to branch out. Yesterday, she took a time-out from her Balinese vacation to speak to Eater Toronto about Gusto 501, an upcoming east-side version of her extremely popular auto-garage-turned-trattoria at King and Portland. The new restaurant, located at 501 King Street East, won’t be opening for a while—the entire building, currently a squat edifice with a weird blue facade, is getting major renovations starting next fall. When it does finally launch, Gusto 501 will be a three-storey restaurant with an entirely glass-encased third floor and a slightly more creative, flexible menu than the original’s traditional Tuscan lineup. As for the somewhat down-at-heel address, Zuccarini is optimistic that it’s going to be the next big thing. “There’s a feeling I get when I’m in a neighbourhood,” she told Eater. “It’s a gut feeling ... It just feels cool to me.” Toronto real-estate watchers may want to take note.