 Sneaky Dee's in July 2007 | |
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| Address | 431 College Street |
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| Location | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Coordinates | 43°39′23″N79°24′27″W / 43.656295°N 79.407431°W |
| Type | Restaurant and concert venue |
| Genre(s) | Alternative rock, indie rock |
| Opened | 1987 |
| Website | |
| sneaky-dees.com | |
Sneaky Dee's is a concert venue and Tex-Mex restaurant in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Originally opened in 1987 on the north west corner of Bloor Street and Bathurst, it moved to its present location at College and Bathurst in 1990. [1]
Sneaky Dee's opened as a 24-hour restaurant at 562 Bloor Street in 1987. [2] The basement contained a performance venue, which hosted the first Toronto Fringe Festival in 1989. [2]
It moved to its current location at 431 College Street in 1990 and became a major venue for Canadian punk rock, hosting Armed and Hammered and other bands. [2] In the early 1990s, Sneaky Dee's was a popular destination for anti-fascist and Anti-Racist Action (ARA) activists, and was the scene of a 1993 brawl between activists and the neo-Nazi Heritage Front after the vandalizing of a white supremacist's house in the east end. [3] After briefly hosting DJs exclusively in the late 1990s, Sneaky Dee's returned to hosting live music in 2002. [2]
Since 2011, local bands and artists have been invited to create signature dishes, including City and Colour's "Northern Blues Nachos", Cancer Bats' "The Destroyer", Sparrows' "Fifth Helena Homefries", Lights' "Cactus in The Valley Nachos", Death From Above 1979's "DFA Nachos", and Fucked Up's two breakfast dishes "The Queen of Heart Attacks" and "Fucked Up Breakfast". [4]
In September 2020, a proposal was submitted to the city of Toronto to demolish Sneaky Dee's and its surrounding buildings to construct a 13-story mixed-use condominium. Toronto city councillor Mike Layton voiced his opposition to the proposal, noting that Sneaky Dee's is "an iconic site and it would really be sad to see them go." [5]
Sneaky Dee's is noted as a major venue for alternative culture and indie rock in Toronto. The venue hosted the long-running Wavelength Music Arts Projects and the Trampoline Hall Lecture Series, until both series moved to The Garrison in October 2009. [6]
Toronto rock band Lowest of the Low mention Sneaky Dee's (lyrics below) in the song “That Song About Trees & Kites” off their Hallucigenia album. [7]
“Well, I don’t mean to be a preacher/ And give a sermon from the church of Sneaky Dee’s/ But one more jug of beer and that point that I was reaching/ Will hit me like a vision and make me fall on my knees.”
Sneaky Dee's was featured in the Scott Pilgrim series of graphic novels written by Bryan Lee O'Malley. [8]
Sneaky Dee's was mentioned by chef and TV host Anthony Bourdain in the second season of The Layover (TV series), part of an episode profiling top spots to eat, drink and experience in Toronto. [9]
The Annex is a neighbourhood in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The traditional boundaries of the neighbourhood are north to Dupont Street, south to Bloor Street, west to Bathurst Street and east to Avenue Road. The City of Toronto recognizes a broader neighbourhood definition that includes the adjacent Seaton Village and Yorkville areas.
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Honest Ed's was a landmark discount store in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was named for its proprietor, Ed Mirvish, who opened the store in 1948 and oversaw its operations for almost 60 years until his death in 2007. The store continued to operate until it permanently closed on December 31, 2016.
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The Guvernment, formerly known as RPM, was a nightclub complex in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was also the name of one of the two main performance venues within the complex. The other venue was Kool Haus. Other smaller rooms within the complex included: The Drink, D'Luxe Lounge, The Orange Room, SkyBar, Charlies, Tanja and Acid Lounge. The Guvernment opened in 1996 and closed in early 2015. The Kool Haus venue became known for hosting the first ever concert performance by Canadian rapper and singer Drake.
POP Montreal is an annual music festival occurring in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, in the early fall, usually at the end of September or the beginning of October. More than 400 bands are scheduled to play in more than 50 venues across the city, mostly located in the Mile End area. Along with music, POP Montreal has music-related film, art events as well as a conference and a cultural fair called Puces Pop. The initial festival in 2002 saw 80 musical acts performing in 40 venues around Saint Laurent Boulevard.
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