Toronto Mayor Rob Ford celebrated his 45th birthday at a Bracebridge, Ont., bar Wednesday night, CBC News has learned, despite currently being treated for addictions at a nearby rehab facility.

Employees of Crabby Joe's Tap & Grill said that Ford was with his two children, and two other women that the employees did not immediately recognize. The group stayed for about an hour, employees said.

A member of the bar staff said that Ford was "in good spirits" and drank only diet soda during dinner.

Photos of the mayor — who one customer that CBC News spoke with said was happy to pose for photographs with bar patrons — began showing up on social media Wednesday night.

Ford is currently undergoing addictions treatment at the nearby GreeneStone rehabilitation clinic in Bala, Ont.

Earlier this month, Ford was spotted posing for photos with locals outside of a Bracebridge bank.

The CEO of GreeneStone confirmed to CBC News that the day trip was sanctioned by the facility, and that patients are allowed in some circumstances to take supervised trips off premises.

It was not immediately clear Wednesday evening if Ford had permission to attend the birthday dinner.

On Tuesday, the Toronto mayor's black Cadillac Escalade — which had been impounded after a 36-year-old woman who claimed to have been in rehab with Ford was charged with impaired driving while behind the wheel of the SUV — was picked up by an unidentified man and driven off the lot.