The Bar Towel

According to the paper in the window, closed for renovations (and my god that place needed it).

Lots of places closing these days on the Yonge St mid-town strip (ie: Davisville to Lawrence) claiming renovations are happening with nothing happening inside.

So who knows if it'll return though...

Images wrote:Lots of places closing these days on the Yonge St mid-town strip (ie: Davisville to Lawrence) claiming renovations are happening with nothing happening inside.

We walked up Yonge the other day and noticed the same thing. Its like a contractor offered a special discount to everyone on the strip. I expect it will reopen within the month, but I wouldn't mourn it if it went.

The Bow used to be one of the best spots to grab a pint in Toronto - hopefully these renovations include refocusing on microbrews, cleaning up their lines, improving the food (which used to be great pub grub) and improving service, because all have suffered greatly in the past couple of years.

The Bow isn't closed for renovations, it's closed because of tax problems, frozen credit, and the fact their entire staff walked out because they weren't being paid. It will take an unlikely major rescue by the Neighborhood Pub Group to revive it.

The Bow & Arrow was, IMO, the best all around pub I'd been to in North America when Kei Meaney was the managing partner. After he was ousted in a coup in '03, it began it's steady decline. I'm an American from Geneseo, NY, south of Rochester, and the Bow was my home in Toronto since I discovered it 1997 until '03. I mourn for what it once was.

Stevetut wrote:The Bow isn't closed for renovations, it's closed because of tax problems, frozen credit, and the fact their entire staff walked out because they weren't being paid. It will take an unlikely major rescue by the Neighborhood Pub Group to revive it.

As stated, the Bow & Arrow was, IMO, the best all around pub in North America when Kei Meaney was the managing partner. After he was ousted in a coup in '03, it began it's steady decline. I'm an American from Geneseo, NY, south of Rochester, and the Bow was my home in Toronto since I discovered it 1997 until '03. I mourne for what it once was.

Thanks for the info. I had no idea they had such trouble. When I first came to Toronto from the UK (around 2003) it was a decent pub, but I watched it slowly decline to the point where even though its a short walk away I would not consider going there again. Thank goodness a number of other establishments around the city have upped their game, and are now destinations in their own right.

The Bow isn't closed for renovations, it's closed because of tax problems, frozen credit, and the fact their entire staff walked out because they weren't being paid. It will take an unlikely major rescue by the Neighborhood Pub Group to revive it.

The Bow & Arrow was, IMO, the best all around pub I'd been to in North America when Kei Meaney was the managing partner. After he was ousted in a coup in '03, it began it's steady decline. I'm an American from Geneseo, NY, south of Rochester, and the Bow was my home in Toronto since I discovered it 1997 until '03. I mourn for what it once was.

Thanks for the info.

I thought it kept things going ok for a year or two after meaney left, but it noticeably declined in the past few. It is too bad, but like Bobsy said, there are a lot more solid choices in Toronto now.

Second all that. For a few years in the 90s/early part of this decade it was the go-to place for craft beer, especially real ale. Had many great pints there of cask stuff that was almost impossible to find elsewhere, like F&M Mild and "Charlie", Hart Amber Ale and, later on, Durham XXX and ESB. It will be missed, even if it has declined recently and, more importantly, been completely overtaken in beer quality by a handful of other places.

I'm very sorry to hear this.

Gary

I left a message with someone at Neighbourhood Pubs a couple weeks ago, inquiring about the status of the Bow. They returned it the next day saying they were in the process of new ownership which was expected to take two to three weeks, and hoped to have the pub open maybe two months after that.
He sounded confident that it was pretty much a done deal with the new owner, it was simply a matter of time.

Now though, the Bow and Arrow website gives a 504 error and the Neighbourhood Pubs website no longer has the Bow and Arrow listed.

I don't know what happened with it, last time I was there I'm not even sure there was a dozen taps which would be unheard of there normally. I really hope to see it open again, where else will we get to see Sandy playing on Sunday?