The Bar Towel

Apparently Bar Volo will be offering certain bottles at half price in attempt to liquidate some inventory before closing down. I was there last night and they had Evil Twin I Love You With My Stout at half price. One of the bartenders told me that they will be having a total of 10 different bottle offerings selling at half price at different times over the summer, but he wouldn't divulge the line up or exact timing.

I didn't go there expecting to be sipping a 12% imperial stout on the patio on a humid July evening, but the combination of the sale and the fact that most of their taps were down made my decision easy!

I heard there's $5 bottles of Tempest (2012)
Sounds like an awesome patio session!

Weren't they doing half price bottles quite frequently on Sundays over the past many months?
Maybe it wasn't every Sunday, but I saw it mentioned on twitter/etc numerous times.

El Pinguino wrote:Weren't they doing half price bottles quite frequently on Sundays over the past many months?
Maybe it wasn't every Sunday, but I saw it mentioned on twitter/etc numerous times.

Yes, they have been doing half-price on select bottles on Sunday for a little while now. The difference is that half-price specials will now be available on other days as well. My understanding was that there would always be a half-price special (while supplies last), but I was there on a Tuesday night which isn't exactly prime time and so I guess there's a risk that they decide not to do any special pricing n Thursdays/Fridays/Saturdays. I plan to visit Volo a few more times this summer for old time's sake regardless so discounted bottles would really just be a bonus.

The secret's finally out, BarVolo is set to reopen about a block away at Dundonald and Church St:

Wonder if they'll roll with the same concept or go back to table service. Hopefully the latter.

skootles wrote:The secret's finally out, BarVolo is set to reopen about a block away at Dundonald and Church St:

Huh, that's an interesting old Semi converted to commercial use. Looks great.

Perhaps there's more kitchen potential in that location as well as better bar seating, with the additional space. That would make for a nice blend of table service / barside access.

This grand old heritage building narrowly avoided being torn down by developers to put up an ugly 'glass shoebox' condo.

The space looks like it'll offer the Volo folks plenty of flexibility with how they serve. If it's fully two-floors, I could potentially see it like a Victory Cafe setup, with a couple of bars, and a choice of ambiance.

I'm excited.

The space looks like it'll offer the Volo folks plenty of flexibility with how they serve. If it's fully two-floors, I could potentially see it like a Victory Cafe setup, with a couple of bars, and a choice of ambiance.

I'm excited.

i assume the food menu won't be that different from the current menu. no money to be made in food and they simplified things by changing to a charcuterie and preserved-driven menu 2 years ago.

i assume it will still be bar service, but who knows.

better question: what will this do for House Ales?

atomeyes wrote:better question: what will this do for House Ales?

Someone asked in a reddit thread, so take it with a grain of salt.

Anyone know if they're going to keep doing the House Ales thing?

Yes they will be. On a larger scale then at Volo.

atomeyes wrote:i assume the food menu won't be that different from the current menu. no money to be made in food and they simplified things by changing to a charcuterie and preserved-driven menu 2 years ago.

Not sure, they also needed room for the brewing setup at the expense of kitchen utility, it seems not coincidentally.

At any rate there's good pizza down the street from here - Brooklyn slices on a good day are hard to beat, and there's no better stomach-alcohol barrier than pizza. Maybe you can bring in your own to the patio if nobody's looking!

Also, this new location is a dual unit capable of supporting two businesses, so I wonder if Volo will occupy one side or both... it looks fully available as of late.

Kish84 wrote:

atomeyes wrote:better question: what will this do for House Ales?

Someone asked in a reddit thread, so take it with a grain of salt.

Anyone know if they're going to keep doing the House Ales thing?

Yes they will be. On a larger scale then at Volo.

the simple answer will come down to the opening date. that bar should be pret a port. if they need time for renos, then yeah, there will be a (more) significant brewing side. their current op is way, way too small.

To make the final few months at Volo complete:
Holy Chuck finally opened up.
586 Yonge

Bonus! It's right across from the park: "Residents worry about drug use, crime in Barbara Hall Park"