Putting parking problems and rental rates aside, there’s no denying that the commercial scene in downtown St. John’s is becoming increasingly eclectic.
In the past five years or so, operations like the Adelaide Oyster House, Fogtown Barber Shop, Relic Supply, Jack Axes and Fixed Coffee and Baking have carved out a niche within their respective sectors, finding success and a following.
The latest operation looking to find its place among them is Toslow, located in the former home of Broken Books and adjacent to the War Memorial.
“I think right now we're on the cusp of a lot of things happening here and I think it was perfect timing in many ways,” says co-owner and full-time operator Chris Scott, who moved home after three years in Montreal to launch the business.
Other than bearing no resemblance to the bars and clubs found on George Street, it’s hard to define what Toslow — named after the resettled Placentia Bay fishing community made famous in the Newfoundland traditional ballad “The Ryans and the Pittmans” — aims to be.
With a selection of local and imported craft beer, along with some wine and cocktails, and given its location and tiny dimensions — seating capacity is 26 people — it has a speakeasy feel.
“When we first started, a lot of people said we should do that kind of vibe,” says Scott, who’s joined in the venture by Jess Gibson and Glen May. “We're underground, you've got a bit of a rock wall, it's a little tucked away, a little hidden.”
But the owners are also calling it a sort of snack bar.
Technically speaking, if it weren’t for offering a small selection of snacks — gourmet popcorn, flavoured nuts, grilled cheese sandwiches and the like — Toslow wouldn’t exist. A City of St. John’s bylaw prohibits any business without a food establishment licence (FEL) in conjunction with an NLC liquor licence to operate within 50 metres of the War Memorial.
“I want to be more a chill spot anyway, so it didn't really throw us a curveball,” insists Scott.
“If we were allowed to have a lounge licence, all the snacks would still be here. Those are things that at bars and other places I've been in Montreal they have, and a lot of places don't have it here because they're trying to sell drinks as fast as possible, whereas here we don't want that same kind of culture around it. I'd much rather have people come down after work and have a pint or two and some snacks.”
While Toslow has its own FEL, some of the snacks will be prepared upstairs in Fixed’s kitchen and transported downstairs.
“Early on we thought everything had to be pre-packaged from upstairs, but it turns out that I can go out and buy the bread, the cheese, everything else, prep it all and then put it away and make the sandwich on demand,” explains Scott.
“This place and this space, it is in some ways an extension of upstairs. Not business related, but we wouldn't be here if Fixed wasn't there.”
Scott adds that Quidi Vidi Brewery is owed a great deal of thanks too, having set Toslow up with a dual-tap kegerator and branded glassware, and allowing them to bring in another brewery’s products on one of the taps.
“At the end of the day, we’re still going to be buying beer from them, but it’s one of those things that really helped out here.”
With a couple of weekends of successful soft launches for friends and family in the books, Toslow is set to open its doors to the public Friday night.
Twitter: kennoliver79
