As multi-storey condos sprout up across the city, some long-time businesses have been uprooted.

Between January 2015 and June of this year, 97 condo projects were started, for a total of 26,750 units, according to Altus Data Solutions, a provider of real estate data and market intelligence.

Inevitably, some businesses have been caught in the crossfire of the residential development boom.

The list includes a bar beloved by beer connoisseurs, a Leslieville diner known for its western sandwiches and a downtown hostel once voted the best on the continent.

An influx of about 100,000 people per year and a pressure to build upward instead of outward are reshaping the retail and commercial landscape, said Matti Siemiatycki, a professor of urban planning at the University of Toronto.

“Those pressures together are creating a perfect storm that is challenging for existing businesses, an environment where change is happening very quickly and unsettling a lot of the current businesses, many of which have been there for a long time,” he said.

But for the businesses that stay, he noted, “there are huge opportunities for new markets and new customers.”

Bar Volo

Craft beer lovers were dismayed to hear the Yonge St. fixture Bar Volo would be closing after 28 years to make room for condos. Plans for the proposed residential project say it would include 528 condo units.

The suds will keep flowing at Bar Volo’s new location at 582 Church St., a five-minute walk from its original spot, said co-owner Tomas Morana last week.

Although he recognizes that development is good for the city, he said it is changing the feel of certain neighbourhoods. “I feel some areas have lost their innocence and their mom-and-pop feel,” he said.

Bar Volo redux will have the same atmosphere but double the room with two patios and floors, he said. He and his brother Julian are also planning to open another bar, Birreria Volo, on College St., which will specialize in sour, farmhouse and barrel-aged beer.

The Big Slice

Employees of the downtown pizzeria dished up cheesy slices for countless hungry Ryerson students before it closed this spring to make room for two proposed condo towers, of 62 and 73 storeys.

The manager Sammy Chaudry told the Star in May that the Big Slice might re-open somewhere nearby.

On Yelp, loyal customers mourned the loss of the pizza joint. “So sad to see this original Toronto landmark go . . . Thanks for all the late night pizza over the last 45 years,” said Samie S.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Canadiana Backpackers’ Inn

Once voted the best travellers’ hostel in North America on hostelworld.com, the popular backpackers’ spot in the entertainment district is due to be replaced by a 40-storey condo tower with 426 units.

The hostel was known for its pancakes and cosy ambience, a product of the kitschy Canadian décor, including a mounted deer head and old photos of the Fathers of Confederation

Jim’s Restaurant

The greasy spoon on Queen St. E. near Logan Ave. specialized in three-inch thick ham, egg and cheese sandwiches, advertising “the Best Westerns” on a sign out front.

“I’ve been here since 2000. It’s hard to leave,” the restaurant’s owner, George Dafos, told the Beach Mirror two weeks ago. A development application calls for a six-storey mixed-use building with 69 condo units.

Zipperz/Cellblock

The owner of the gay hotspot in the heart of the Village thanked customers and staff via Facebook last week, and posted pictures of the now-empty bar on Church and Carlton Sts.

“Tear down is in progress!” wrote Harry Singh. “It’s bitter sweet as I look around and now that I have a moment to absorb it all!!!”

“I will have some good news in the near future as my search continues for a new venue!” he added.

The bar is set to be replaced by a 45-storey mixed-use building.

On social media, some patrons expressed disappointment. “It’s sad to see all the old places disappear, and you know there will be no nightclubs under all the new condos going up everywhere,” one Facebook user wrote.

With files from Star staff