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A couple long-time Kensington restaurants closed as Hungary Thai at 196 Augusta Ave has closed after 24 years. This follows the nearby Amadeu's Restaurant which shut down recently after 36 years.

www.blogto.com

Restaurant in historic building permanently closes after 24 years in Toronto

For the second time this month, another long-standing restaurant in Toronto's Kensington Market has officially closed its doors for good. Hungary Tha…
www.blogto.com www.blogto.com
 
AlbertC said:
A couple long-time Kensington restaurants closed as Hungary Thai at 196 Augusta Ave has closed after 24 years. This follows the nearby Amadeu's Restaurant which shut down recently after 36 years.

www.blogto.com

Restaurant in historic building permanently closes after 24 years in Toronto

For the second time this month, another long-standing restaurant in Toronto's Kensington Market has officially closed its doors for good. Hungary Tha…
www.blogto.com www.blogto.com
Click to expand...

I walked past here a few times but the idea of Hungarian/Thai Fusion was never too appealing. I grew up eating Hungarian food and I could never see myself eating there.

At least Budapest still exists on the Danforth (for now).
 
Richard White said:
I walked past here a few times but the idea of Hungarian/Thai Fusion was never too appealing. I grew up eating Hungarian food and I could never see myself eating there.

At least Budapest still exists on the Danforth (for now).
Click to expand...

Yeah, I've never actually tried Hungary Thai. It was just one of those outlandish fusion concepts but the name feels a bit quintessential as one of those cast of characters found in Kensington.
 
I've been to Hungary Thai maybe 3 or 4 times in the past 20 years. I always thought the concept was bizarre too, although it didn't actually offer any creative fusion dishes, disappointingly. One side of the menu was all Thai, and the other was all Hungarian. The schnitzel was average at best unfortunately, so I didn't go in recent years. I wouldn't call this a big loss, but it was certainly a very Kensington-esque idea. I hope it doesn't get replaced by something boring, or yet another taco/Latin (bleh!!) joint the neighbourhood is already flooded with...
 
www.torontotoday.ca

Kensington Market business owners divided over cancellation of May's Pedestrian Sunday

The Kensington Market Business Improvement Area cited issues with unpermitted vendors, unregulated food sales, and the increasing commercialisation of the event
www.torontotoday.ca www.torontotoday.ca

The first Pedestrian Sunday in Kensington Market of the summer has been cancelled, and local business owners are split over the decision.

The Kensington Market Business Improvement Area (KMBIA) said on Friday that only the May event has been cancelled, but future dates for the festival will be “reassessed after the results of a community survey.”
Click to expand...

The BIA has posted this as well:
1747523720827.png
 
IMG_8941.jpeg


Well well, the unexpectedly shuttered Blue Banana has reopened as a second outpost of the Public Butter, a vintage clothing shop in Parkdale (which I frequent 😂). It’s probably the most logical use of the space to be honest given the bohemian character of the area.


IMG_8942.jpeg


Seems there was a soft opening of Burdock Brewery’s new patio (they took over the recently closed Amadeu’s space) as there were people sitting and drinking on it even though construction was clearly not finished yet.
 
Towered said:
View attachment 654153

Well well, the unexpectedly shuttered Blue Banana has reopened as a second outpost of the Public Butter, a vintage clothing shop in Parkdale (which I frequent 😂). It’s probably the most logical use of the space to be honest given the bohemian character of the area.


View attachment 654155

Seems there was a soft opening of Burdock Brewery’s new patio (they took over the recently closed Amadeu’s space) as there were people sitting and drinking on it even though construction was clearly not finished yet.
Click to expand...

Good to see you out and about...........and taking photos too.......... but I am a little concerned.........about your exhibitionist tendencies getting out of hand..... I feel confident that if you'd been wearing pants, they would have factored in to the photos somewhere. LOL
 
Northern Light said:
Good to see you out and about...........and taking photos too.......... but I am a little concerned.........about your exhibitionist tendencies getting out of hand..... I feel confident that if you'd been wearing pants, they would have factored in to the photos somewhere. LOL
Click to expand...
If there's any place in Toronto where I could feel comfortable and bold enough to indulge in taking my exhibitionism up to 11, it would definitely be Kensington! 🤣

The far more mundane truth is that I didn't have a chance to sit at any local cafes and show off my tights because they were all closed for the day already...plus even if they were still open, I wasn't wearing ones that I haven't already shown 😄
 
"But that was then. These days, we’ll do 400 oysters on a given Pedestrian Sunday. The tone of the market has changed. It seems to be mostly tourists and teenagers now, rather than the regular customers we had all grown used to. The neighbourhood is still cool and trendy, to be sure, and the energy is still great. But now people are just coming to walk around with a coffee instead of doing their groceries. They’re not looking to tote around a bag of fish. Combined with multiple rent hikes, that shift has meant less business to go around—and it shows."

I can get cheaper fish at Hua Sheng or Kai Wei. Be more competitive.

Rest of the article is just whinging over old places shifting out and being replaced by more topical outlets. Cities change.
 
To be fair, I used to go to Kensington Market in the 90s and still go today but it is nowhere near what it was in its heyday.

All the hip, bohemian vibes are gone in favor of high rents and gentrification. It's like the nearby Graffiti Alley. People don't go to Kensington Market to buy things, they go because they saw it in Zagats or Frommers!
 
I think the BIA and many vendors don’t go with the time and will be gone in time. How can someone so stupid and oppose a pedestrian street construction by the city?

I wrote the following email:

Subject: A Matter of Political Will: The Case for a Pedestrian Kensington
To: info@kensingtonmarket.to

Dear Members of the Kensington Market BIA Board of Management,

I am writing to express my deep disappointment with the decision to pause Pedestrian Sundays. This move suggests a fundamental misunderstanding of what makes Kensington Market essential in 2025.
Let's be clear about the choice facing urban neighbourhoods today. When people want to drive and park easily, they go to a mall. When they want enjoyment, culture, and a true community experience, they seek out vibrant, walkable, car-free areas. The decision to deny full pedestrianization to Kensington Market has always been the wrong path, and pausing the minimal program we already have is a significant step backward.
The success of Montreal's summer streets—on Avenue Mont-Royal, Wellington, and elsewhere—is not a miracle. It is a direct result of political will. Their leaders understood that the future of retail and community life lies in prioritizing people over cars. They made a choice to create world-class destinations, and they succeeded.
The logistical issues of managing vendors or crowds are minor hurdles. They are solvable problems that have been solved by cities all over the world. To present them as a reason to cancel Pedestrian Sundays is not a sign of practical leadership; it's a sign that the will to succeed is absent.
The only logical path forward is a bolder one. I urge you to champion the full pedestrianization of Kensington Market for the entire weekend—Saturday and Sunday—throughout the summer season. This shouldn't be a debate; it should be our goal. It is the only way to ensure the market thrives and doesn't fall into irrelevance.
This decision is a test of vision for the BIA. Will you commit to the proven, successful model of a vibrant, car-free community hub? Or will you continue to manage the market's decline by failing to embrace its single greatest asset?
I urge you to demonstrate the necessary political will to secure Kensington's future.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
A resident who believes in a car-free Kensington
 
Andy_in_Toronto said:
I think the BIA and many vendors don’t go with the time and will be gone in time. How can someone so stupid and oppose a pedestrian street construction by the city?

I wrote the following email:

Subject: A Matter of Political Will: The Case for a Pedestrian Kensington
To: info@kensingtonmarket.to

Dear Members of the Kensington Market BIA Board of Management,

I am writing to express my deep disappointment with the decision to pause Pedestrian Sundays. This move suggests a fundamental misunderstanding of what makes Kensington Market essential in 2025.
Let's be clear about the choice facing urban neighbourhoods today. When people want to drive and park easily, they go to a mall. When they want enjoyment, culture, and a true community experience, they seek out vibrant, walkable, car-free areas. The decision to deny full pedestrianization to Kensington Market has always been the wrong path, and pausing the minimal program we already have is a significant step backward.
The success of Montreal's summer streets—on Avenue Mont-Royal, Wellington, and elsewhere—is not a miracle. It is a direct result of political will. Their leaders understood that the future of retail and community life lies in prioritizing people over cars. They made a choice to create world-class destinations, and they succeeded.
The logistical issues of managing vendors or crowds are minor hurdles. They are solvable problems that have been solved by cities all over the world. To present them as a reason to cancel Pedestrian Sundays is not a sign of practical leadership; it's a sign that the will to succeed is absent.
The only logical path forward is a bolder one. I urge you to champion the full pedestrianization of Kensington Market for the entire weekend—Saturday and Sunday—throughout the summer season. This shouldn't be a debate; it should be our goal. It is the only way to ensure the market thrives and doesn't fall into irrelevance.
This decision is a test of vision for the BIA. Will you commit to the proven, successful model of a vibrant, car-free community hub? Or will you continue to manage the market's decline by failing to embrace its single greatest asset?
I urge you to demonstrate the necessary political will to secure Kensington's future.
Sincerely,
[Your Name]
A resident who believes in a car-free Kensington
Click to expand...
There's a story that goes something like.. when Copenhagen council proposed making one of their streets car free so it could be a pedestrian shopping street, the worried and firmly opposed business owners said 'This isn't Italy, that won't work here!', but the council marched on and made what is now known as Strøget. It was so successful that the business owners on the next streets over went to the council and urged for their streets to become car free as well.
 
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