Proposals for change
David Weenen (left) and Paul Dineen (right) talk to David Orsini following his presentation. The BIA has engaged David Orsini, a landscape architect from Sunarts Design, to prepare a Master Plan for future change on Parliament, Carlton and Gerrard. He’s looking at the physical features in these areas in order to make them friendlier for pedestrians, more inviting for shoppers and greener and more sustainable environments.
David showed his initial proposals to members of the BIA in their Annual Meeting last Wednesday evening. These ideas include developing green areas on the wider boulevards on the north sides of Winchester and Spruce at Parliament, expanding and rebuilding Anniversary Park at Gerrard, gateway brickworks on the street at Wellesley and at Sherbourne and Carlton, a “bike corral” in a bump-out area on Parliament near Jet Fuel, bigger street level gardens in sidewalk tree pits and hanging floral baskets along the street.
At this time, these are initial proposals. David is now getting feedback and is preparing his ideas in a coherent plan. When that’s available, you will be invited to see it at the BIA office and to comment on it.
2009 BIA program
At the Annual Meeting, BIA members also approved a budget and a program for 2009. Among the highlights:
David showed his initial proposals to members of the BIA in their Annual Meeting last Wednesday evening. These ideas include developing green areas on the wider boulevards on the north sides of Winchester and Spruce at Parliament, expanding and rebuilding Anniversary Park at Gerrard, gateway brickworks on the street at Wellesley and at Sherbourne and Carlton, a “bike corral” in a bump-out area on Parliament near Jet Fuel, bigger street level gardens in sidewalk tree pits and hanging floral baskets along the street.
At this time, these are initial proposals. David is now getting feedback and is preparing his ideas in a coherent plan. When that’s available, you will be invited to see it at the BIA office and to comment on it.
2009 BIA program
At the Annual Meeting, BIA members also approved a budget and a program for 2009. Among the highlights:
Robert McEnirney, the BIA's treasurer celebrates his new budget with George and Cathy RondinaA committee is working on a review of the annual Festival to see whether it needs to be more focused and revitalized.
A second committee is working with David Orsini on the streetscape Master Plan and will have priorities to implement his ideas once they’re approved.
Music on Parliament Street will again appear next May and June.
Sean McIntyre from Pam McConnell's office.There will be a more integrated approach to publicize BIA events, using printed brochures and the internet to tell residents about restaurant and business activities. 
John Jay (left-from the Cobourg) and Daniel Megly (right-Daniel et Daniel) listen to David Orsini's presentation
John Jay (left-from the Cobourg) and Daniel Megly (right-Daniel et Daniel) listen to David Orsini's presentationFollowing up on the streetscape study, the BIA will undertake a second design study, this time looking at the buildings in our commercial areas. Our intention is to determine what standards are needed to accommodate both the community’s desire for historic preservation and our commercial activity. It’s hoped that we can add these guidelines as essential steps in any redevelopment projects that may come to the BIA in the future.
Carol and Calvin - who knew?Cabbagetown Preservation Association
In their meeting last week, the CPA members heard Paul Dineen and Doug Fisher talk about their perceptions of retail life in the BIA.
Paul addressed the coming expansion of Regent Park, threats from big box stores and the streetscape plan. Doug gave details about the way the community is served by our businesses.
This was the third in a series of CPA meetings about Parliament Street. Earlier this year, George Rust D’Eye spoke about the heritage features of our buildings. Later, Rick Merrill tackled the topic of a renewed streetscape on Parliament.
Overall, the series has shed light on the importance of our commercial strip for Cabbagetown residents.
The CPA has been very vigorous over the past year. The Tour of Homes has been a great success and the springtime garden tours and the Halloween ghost tour have been added successfully as well. Cabbagetown People continues to be a strong part of the CPA program and the Museum is rapidly settling into its new home in Riverdale Park. The CPA Newsletter has become an important voice for community news and updates. All of this has been welcome indeed.
JavaVille
Good news about the property at Carlton and Parliament. The owner, George Foulides, has submitted preliminary plans to the City of Toronto for a brand new, three storey commercial building on the site. The ground floor will house an operating business and the upper two floors will have office space for rent. George expects the public consultations to start in the winter.JAMCafe
As announced last week, JAMCafe (195 Carlton) hosts its Sangiovese tasting dinner on Tuesday, December 2. It looks good – wine from four regions plus a sparkling reception will accompany four food tasting courses. Please call (416) 921-1255 for reservations.Av wants us to remind you that this is also an opportunity to support the food bank – so please bring a holiday food-bank donation.
Lounge 51
When The Laurentian Room closed a year ago, we really felt the loss. It was an exciting venue, a place that gave Cabbagetown a great upper-end restaurant and club.
Now, Lounge 51 (51A Winchester) has opened in its place and all indications are that it’ll be a worthy replacement. Both the CPA meeting and the BIA Annual Meeting were held here this week. It’s a good big space for private parties and meetings and it’s also open on weekends with entertainment and fine dining.
On Friday, November 28, Carol Taylor is singing. On Saturday from 9:30pm, TomKatz’s DJ Thomas Hall is playing Top 40, house, R&B and your requests. For more information, call 416-921-5100.
And when you’ve got your bottle refund, spend it at nearby Foxy Boutique (251 Gerrard). Michelle is very pleased with the funky new lines that she’s offering for the holiday season. Her store is jammed full of vintage clothing, shoes and accessories. If you remember, please mention this blurb and she’ll give you a 10% discount. Just another reason why we think those Gerrard Street stores are a real treasure for Cabbagetown shoppers. 
Big Mamma's Boy (Parliament) is holding a fundraiser for the Cabbagetown Youth Centre on Friday November 21 at 7 pm. Join John Stevens as host and sing along to your heart's content.
Stevhan Standberg (179 Carlton at Ontario) is a well-known celebrity stylist whose clients over the years have included Cindy Crawford, Sandra Bullock and Matthew Broderick. He brings 23 years of unhurried professionalism to his work with you. His emphasis in his bright and welcoming studio is on a direct, personal experience for you. You can check out his services and contact him for an appointment through his web site, 
Sharon went shopping last Tuesday and in her own words, she did "a biggie." For men, she’s brought in hoodies and sweaters in many different styles and colours. For women, there are more sweaters, Mac & Jac and Kensie Girl samples – skirts, coats, tops and dresses. And on her more elegant side, she has silk dresses, evening gowns, scarves, hats, gloves and jewellery. She has to make room for all of her new merchandise, so she’s listed many items on sale to move them out. (503 Parliament)
While the stock markets crash and doom-and-gloom springs up everywhere, JAMCafe (195 Carlton) is coming to the rescue: they’re offering a special three-course recession-proof prix fixe dinner for $19. Now that’s a bailout – at that price, you can eat here every night.
Stock up on your Christmas home needs at real bargain prices. Jafar from Dollar4U (405 Parliament) recommends his collection of ceramic angels and statuettes for a nice decorative note over the holidays. The store is also jammed with ribbons, tree ornaments and every other goodie that you may want to give yourself that festive feeling.
When the hardworking (and underpaid) BIA workers swarmed onto Parliament, Gerrard and Carlton this week, they were attaching seasonal wreathes to our light fixtures. As the day began, passersby told them that “it’s too early”, “not yet” and “what’s this for?” But down came the year’s first serious snow and the chant changed “yo,ho,ho”, “Merry Christmas” and even “hey, that looks good.” It goes to show you: red ribbons and snow will do it every time – and we hope that you enjoy this year’s Cabbagetown Christmas. Many thanks to Jim from Super Foto (434 Parliament) for his fine snapshot of the guys at work. 
Luciano Graziano is taking over at No Frills. He comes here after a stint in a store in Whitby. He’s already met many of us as he settles into his new job and he’s learning as much as he can about his new neighbourhood. He’s quickly found out that a sense of humour helps a lot here – so he’s denying that he’s young, single, goodlooking and rich!
The sale is still going strong at Barracuda (527 Parliament). Most of their decorative accessories are selling at 25 to 40% off their regular prices. They’ve just included two lines of garden planters at 25% discounts, one line is in granite and the other in weathered grey-stone. Nifty stuff.
Laurier is a short elegant street running north off Wellesley, just a block east of Parliament. The residents have organized themselves to start an intriguing experiment in geothermal heating. The proposal is to dig deep holes in the middle of the street and install the equipment needed for heat exchangers for each home. And, as a bonus, when the street is rebuilt, it’ll be designed to be porous so that rainwater is diverted from the city’s sewers and back into the ground. It's a serious and very attractive concept for creating green sources for heating and cooling in heritage districts. The Laurier residents are being supported by the Don Vale Cabbagetown Residents Association.
Ruby’s BBQ has taken over the former Ali Baba at 415 Parliament. They’re continuing to offer Mediterranean and middle eastern dishes – good news for falafel lovers – and adding roast chicken dishes as well. This is a bright cheerful room and the food makes a visit well worthwhile.
Further up the street at 482 Parliament, John Ward opened his Gourmet Burger Company this week and the first reviews are ecstatic. The choices are dazzling – who knew that a burger could include “Aussie”, “smokey bacon”, “double cheeseburger”, “mushroom melt” and “spicy Cajun” choices? There are two kinds of fries, two salads, soup and onion rings. And eleven toppings or seven sauces. So far, two other people from neighbouring restaurants have told me that John serves up great burgers – honest praise indeed.
The mood is certainly upbeat at Epicure (473 Parliament). It’s probably because their new paint job and new awnings are now finished and proudly in place. It takes the stress away. And the facelift has given the whole area a nice perk. To celebrate, Patty has two creamy cheeses from Quebec back in stock – Riopelle and La Sauvigne. Then if you buy one of their reusable mugs at $6.99, it’ll come complete with a free coffee and a muffin.
The Cabbagetown Youth Centre (2 Lancaster) has been selected as one of a network of community hosts across Canada to take part in the 2010 Olympic torch relays. Coca Cola and ParticipACTION have designed the SOGO Active program to encourage teenagers to adopt an active lifestyle. As part of that, they will award 1,000 torch relay spots to young people who qualify through their personal activities. Watch for more announcements and, if you have teens in your family between 13 and 20 years old, be sure to register them at the CYC right away. The more active they become, the better their chances are to be chosen.
Tommy Oki, a long-time Cabbagetown resident and a founder of the Cabbagetown Community Arts Centre, died on September 30. A musical memorial to honour his commitment to the children and families of this community will take place on Sunday, November 16 at 9 pm at the Centre (454 Parliament) . Admission is free and donations to the Centre are gratefully received.
To our delight, Kim Falls and three friends, Dana Valin, Ashley Piroli and Rosa Ameduri dropped into our office to get walking tour maps. They’re York University students working on a field trip. They chose a beautiful day for their tour and certainly covered it with enthusiasm and good spirits. 
NOW Magazine has just reviewed OMI (241 Carlton) and given John Lee and his staff a great boost: “remarkably luxe” and “if a recent dinner and lunch are any indication, the revamped OMI should be seeing Libretto-like lineups once word gets out that he’s back”.
Downstairs, the Stonegrill is continuing its S&M Thursdays (Sushi & Martinis) under the guiding hand of chef Michi Tanaka.
Michael Guenther has been traveling through Russia and Ukraine and now he’s back. Like every good chef, he’s brought a batch of new ideas home with him. So he’s cooking up a Russian Menu to celebrate – Saturday November 8, Sunday November 9 and Monday November 10. (554 Parliament)
JAMCafe is now offering Christmas and New Year’s party menus and taking reservations. You can find out more at 
They’ve taken over the space once used by their bakery neighbour and they’re building an extra room for parties and overflow crowds. Cranberries is one of our quiet success stories, consistently providing lovely meals at amazing prices. When they hold special events, they’re sold out. We’ll keep you up-to-date about their plans and their progress with the new room. (601 Parliament)
Pear Tree’s special Christmas party menu has also been posted. For years, this Cabbagetown favourite has been a destination for those who want good meals at reasonable prices. They have excellent facilities for groups and a cozy atmosphere for family events and special occasions. (507 Parliament)
It’s the end of the summer season and Barracuda is clearing out stock to make way for next year’s supplies. Wood accessories are 25% off. Many glass vases are specially priced at two-for-$30. Jewellery is offered at 25 to 35% off. If you buy two cowhide cushions, you can either take a third one free, or get a 25% discount on your purchase of two. Barracuda is full of beautiful items so this sale is one you don’t want to miss. (527 Parliament)