The grand, 220-seat space is rendered as a series of privileged niches, pockets, and corners, defined by the remaining scars and ghosts of previous domestic occupation of the typical Toronto ‘apartment above the store.’ The experience is defined by the characteristics of a number of distinct spaces such as the large eating bar, the dining-rooms, the open pizza oven, the Ballatio outdoor loggia, the Rifugio event space, and the now infamous roof-top patio.

The entrance at Price Street with its cranked reception desk replaces the typical General Store at grade with product shelving and even a checkout counter that functions as a reservations and host counter. The biased geometry of the second level’s inlaid wood floor registers here as ceiling baffles made from reclaimed Douglas Fir and aligned with the angle of the nearby North Toronto train tracks.

This grain, which defines the field of unfinished red oak flooring on the second floor, is occasionally interrupted by dramatic ‘scars ‘and gaps of mosaic tile and metal inlay that have a story to tell. They are meant to virtually register the spaces left by previous demising walls. Objectified installations of banquettes, custom tables and Georgian-wire glass screens respect the order, rather, of Toronto’s street grid.

Etched metal panels, overlapping imperfectly create a kind of proscenium above the age-old, naturally stained, Cipollino bar, seemingly recycled from the site. The exposed scaffold, left over from the process of selective demolition, supports a new stair that clings to the remains of a masonry wall and wood-burning fireplace and leads patrons to an unexpected large roof terrace.

Il Rifugio

Imola Light Fixture

Rooftop Patio