Swan Restaurant goes under

Queen West’s Swan Restaurant, open since 1997, will no longer cure hangovers with its caesars and smoked trout eggs Benny. Owner Damian Heath tells us that the restaurant was operating at a loss and it officially closed yesterday. Two very harsh winters in a row didn’t help much. “Torontonians aren’t very apt to go outside in cool climes like their Saskatchewan relatives,” he said. Heath opened the spot after the owners of the diner previously in Swan’s space died, and he has watched Trinity-Bellwoods go through plenty of change over the course of 17 years. “It was a rough neighbourhood and it’s been a long journey—there was a crack house where Fonda Lola is and the Candy Factory wasn’t even built yet when I started. It’s been interesting to watch. I didn’t want this to end, but it has.”