Vegan cafe and punk venue D-Beatstro to close in February

Another important Toronto venue is set to close its doors. D-Beatstro announced on Facebook on Tuesday, January 2, that it.

Michael Rancic

Another important Toronto venue is set to close its doors.

D-Beatstro announced on Facebook on Tuesday, January 2, that it will be closing in February. The vegan cafe, event and performance space will be offering its final brunch service on Family Day (February 19).

Jess Montebello, who co-owns the business with Chris Cammarata, explains to NOW that the main reason for the closure had to do with their building permit. Theyd applied for it back in February of 2015 for their planned renovations, which included a fully accessible washroom and changes to the kitchen.

We didnt realize this when we moved in, but no one had taken out building permits since 1975, Montebello says, which meant that D-Beatstro had to account for any and all changes made to the building in the past 42 years.

Local councillor Ana Bailaos office helped D-Beatstro appeal to the city, but Montebello and Cammarata were informed by both Municipal Licensing and Standards and the office responsible for building permits that the business, and not their landlord, was responsible for hiring architects and an engineer to draw the building plans and any costs of additional work the city deems necessary to bring the space up to code. In a sense, they were punished for following the rules.

Instead of dragging out an expensive process, Montebello and Cammarata have decided to go out on a high. We decided that it was best to go out on our own terms, have a big party, celebrate and move forward in a good position, Montebello says. As opposed to putting in tens of thousands of dollars into a building that we dont own.

D-Beatstro opened at 1292 Bloor West in 2015 after a successful crowdfunding campaign. Early on, the space, which hosts punk shows and is a venue for the annual hardcore festival Not Dead Yet, clashed with neighbours over noise, but by working together with the community and Bailao, it became a valued pillar of the Bloordale scene. Its an important local punk space and one of the few local venues to regularly book all-ages shows.

Until the end of February, D-Beatstro will have plenty of programming, including its famous brunch, punk rock lottery (February 16) and the final Forever Fest (February 17-19). Musicians interested in playing the fest or booking one final event can get in touch.

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