Patio Season on St Clair
While enjoying the remaining days of summer you may find yourself on a patio, one of the few options restaurants have been able to offer during the last 18 months. And when you lift your glass of vino, or well chilled beer, take a moment to toast the St. Clair West visionaries who made licensed patios in Toronto a reality.
In 1963 the owners of La Sem, then at the corner of St. Clair West and St. Clarens Ave., applied for Toronto’s first ever liquor license for a patio. Their application was championed by the Toronto alderman for the area, Joseph J. Piccininni.
Yes, the same one whose name graces the nearby Piccininni Community Centre at 1369 St. Clair Ave West.
The city eventually approved the request even though, as Linda MacDonald remembers, “[T]hey were of the opinion that nobody would want to eat and drink outside.” Linda went on to say that today patios are so popular that “[T]hey carve out as much sidewalk as the law will allow”.
In our oral history interview with Paul Weldon, however, he observed that the dedicated streetcar lanes may have eliminated sidewalk space that had previously been used for patios.
While competition for sidewalk space could be a challenge, Joe Mihevc noted that even with the dedicated lanes, eight new patio licences were granted in 2015-16. And as we saw during covid, the city allowed restaurant patios to move out past the sidewalk! So, despite all the challenges, it seems that patio life is now well entrenched on St. Clair West.
And though La Sem, the patio pioneers, had to leave their location at 1331 St. Clair Ave. West for a larger premises in Mississauga, the current owners continue to welcome patrons to the patio today.
To learn more about St. Clair and the history of patios, check out these two resources:
“Maybe Toronto isn’t so uptight after all” , by Shawn Micallef, Toronto Star
“Transfer of Business License and Reinstatement of Outdoor Patio … at Porto Novo Restaurant”, by Cesar Palacio Toronto City Councillor.
Mary Pickford sipping tea on an outdoor patio, 1930s, City of Toronto Archives