This retro diner is serving char siu breakfast sandwiches and Kewpie mayo tuna melts
Susie’s Rise and Dine is a greasy spoon reboot for nostalgic millennials
Name: Susie’s Rise and Dine
Contact: 539 College St., susiestoronto.com, @susiestoronto
Neighbourhood Little Italy
Owners: Adam Lore, Tyler Tanabe and Matthew Chow
Chef: Kelvin Ng
Accessibility: Not fully accessible
Childhood friends Adam Lore, Tyler Tanabe and Matthew Chow grew up splitting pancakes in neighbourhood diners and gathering around family-style feasts at home. At Susie’s Rise and Dine—a polished, modern take on the greasy spoon—they’re serving up both, with a side of nostalgia.
Named after Lore’s grandmother, the restaurant is meant to feel like a community hub that echoes the sense of welcome he and his friends always found at her dining table. “We wanted to offer something that was very social and something where we could highlight our upbringings,” says Lore.
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“Growing up Asian in Canada, we had the best of both worlds,” says Lore. “We had traditional Chinese or Japanese foods with our families at home, but we also ate at a lot of diners.”
The team tapped chef and partner Kelvin Ng (former executive chef for Hong Kong’s Black Sheep Restaurant Group) to bring the concept to life. The result is a fresh take on the classic diner: brunchy comfort food dishes with east-meets-west flair, low-octane cocktails that go down easy, and a space that walks the line between old-school diner and contemporary hangout.
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The Food
The menu mashes up diner favourites with Asian flavours drawn from the team’s family recipes. “We wanted the dishes to be approachable for someone who has never tried these flavour profiles before but also adventurous enough for people who are familiar with them,” says Lore.
Plates here are built for sharing, just like the communal meals of the team’s childhoods. “In a lot of Chinese families, you’ll see big dishes in the middle of the table, and everyone helps themselves. We wanted to bring that spirit here, but in a diner setting,” says Lore.
Right now, the kitchen is focused on brunch, but there’s a chance that Susie’s could become a true all-day diner down the road.
The Drinks
Cocktails here are built for the brunch crowd, so they lean easy and low-proof. Names like I’m Driving and What You’re Having mimic the polite replies you might toss out when someone offers you a drink at a house party.
The Space
It’s an old-school diner for the modern era—sleek, playful and just retro enough. The walls are clad in glossy tiles striped with powder blue, and geometric floors give a wink to vintage linoleum without looking dated.
Even the soundtrack pulls from the past: just as ’60s-era diners spun tunes from the ’40s and ’50s, Susie’s cues up bangers from the late-’90s and early-aughts to tap in to a more millennial brand of nostalgia.
“If you heard it played at a high school dance, it’s on our playlist,” says Lore.
Jessica Huras is a freelance writer and editor with over a decade of experience creating food, travel and lifestyle content. She’s a content editor for the LCBO’s Food & Drink magazine, and her work has appeared in the Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, Chatelaine, Toronto Life and Elle Canada, among other publications.
