Rock Lobster owner to open cowboy-themed restaurant-saloon on Queen East

It’s been just under a year since Matt Dean Pettit opened the first brick-and-mortar incarnation of his popular Rock Lobster restaurant, which he followed up this summer with a second location on Queen Street West. For his newest concept, Pettit is trading in his fishing waders for a pair of cowboy boots. The place is called Boots & Bourbon Saloon, and will be exactly what it sounds like. Partnering with the owners of Muskoka’s popular Kee to Bala music venue, Boots & Bourbon will be a full-fledged cowboy watering hole dedicated to country music, Texas-style food portions and “ghetto gourmet” dishes like beer-can chicken. There will also be karaoke, line dancing, a country buffet brunch and (very, very likely) a mechanical bull. Boots & Bourbon Saloon is slated to open in early December on Queen East.