Pour a little out of your Bitch Slap: Zelda’s, one of the cornerstones of Toronto’s gay community, is no more.
A little while back, I reported that Zelda’s suffered a fire and that the eponymous owner had vowed to get back up on her feet. Unfortunately, after weighing the costs of rebuilding, it looks like the restaurant won’t be returning.
If you’ve never eaten at Zelda’s, well, too late I suppose. But if you have eaten there, you’ll probably remember that it was a fun restaurant with good food and cocktails that tasted like candy. So basically, it was the BEST restaurant.
But it wasn’t just THE BEST restaurant. Zelda’s was also pretty integral when it came to supporting the gay community. Back when it was still on Church St, where Second Cup currently sits, Zelda’s helped raise money for gay causes, helped launch the careers of many of Toronto’s most beloved drag queens, and provided a place for people in the Village to connect with one another. (Zelda’s is where I met my current boyfriend, so needless to say, the restaurant holds a special place in the withered husk that doctors tell me is my heart.)
So goodbye, Zelda’s. I’ll always remember you as the place where my boyfriend watched me eat a bacon cheeseburger with grilled cheese sandwich crusts and still wasn’t grossed out enough to dump me. Even though, clearly, he should have.
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