Beloved Oakwood Village restaurant forced to shutter after landlord doesn't renew lease

A Toronto community is grieving the loss of a beloved local restaurant that offered customers a warm meal and a welcoming table in the heart of Oakwood Village.

A Toronto community is grieving the loss of a beloved local restaurant that offered customers a warm meal and a welcoming table in the heart of Oakwood Village.

Owner and chef Anne Sorrenti told CTV News Toronto that she’s been forced to close The Oakwood Hardware near Oakwood Avenue and Rogers Road because her landlord didn’t want to renew her lease.

Sorrenti said she has lived in the neighbourhood for 29 years and she used to pass the building all the time. She said the location used to be a hardware store back in 1928, and since then a series of businesses revolved through. Sorrenti opened the restaurant in 2016 after working to convert the space.

“It had become a cursed corner where one shop would open and then it would close, and then it was empty,” she said. “And then finally I said I’m going to do it. I’m going to take a chance and so I opened there in Oakwood village.”

“I knew there really wasn’t any place for people to go in the neighbourhood, for like families, women, just anybody. There was no inclusive place. For me, it was really important to have that place that was welcoming for all people.”

Over the years, the restaurant managed to become a pillar in the community, long-time customer Lisa Goos told CTV News Toronto. She said she brought her family to the restaurant to have a warm comforting meal when her mother passed away.

“It’s a pretty important place. My whole family went there when my mom died and Anna put shots on our table for us because she didn’t know what happened but she knew we were hurting,” she said. “It’s pretty devastating. It’s sad. It’s such a warm place to be. The food is just perfect. It just fit the community perfectly in terms of the décor, the food, the ambiance, the environment that it created."