TORONTO, ON – Four months after it was first reported, the second location of popular Toronto craft beer destination Bar Hop is close to completion, and CBN has learned that one of the city’s top chefs will be running the kitchen once it opens.
Located in a former nightclub at 137 Peter Street – just a couple of blocks from the original Bar Hop – the new spot features two floors and a rooftop patio, meaning it will have a much larger capacity than its sibling. As co-owner Rob Pingitore told BlogTO in March, “we really just needed more space, and with an increased capacity we’ll be able to accommodate more of the group requests we get and we’ll have a more comfortable space for hosting beer events.”
Manning the stoves at the new Bar Hop will be Mark Cutrara, a chef that helped usher in Toronto’s twin obsessions with local food and nose-to-tail eating at Cowbell, the restaurant he owned and operated in the city’s Parkdale neighbourhood from 2007 to 2013. Cutrara is joining Bar Hop after several months at Concession Road, and he promises that he will be offering a menu that is “beer friendly and fermentation heavy… and maybe a little meaty.”
While early rumours about the new spot suggested that it would include an on-site brewery, that will not be the case initially, although the size of the venue will allow for one to be added in the future if the owners decide to branch out.
The second Bar Hop will be opening later this summer, with the exact date expected to be announced via the Bar Hop Facebook page when it’s confirmed.
[Photo of Bar Hop by Harry Hetherington. Photo of Mark Curtara from his Twitter profile.]