Lansdowne brewpub has warm, cosy feel
Lot 30 Brewers serves up pub fare inspired by Toronto’s diverse neighbourhoods A pint of the starfruit sour from Lot 30 Brewers.
The nine beers on tap and in tall cans at Lot 30 Brewers, a brewpub on Lansdowne Ave. just south of College St., should go down smooth in this warm weather, with an aftertaste of tenacity.
You can credit that to co-owner Darrin Earley, 46. Dude does not give up. Earley helped found Lansdowne Brewery in this 2,700-square-foot location three years ago, but all did not go according to plan.
While Earley ran the pub, his partner Jeremy Coghill was to take care of the brewing, which was to be set up in the back room. It did not happen.
There were issues with licensing, but also the partnership.
“We had a difference in philosophy about the business,” says Earley, and won’t budge on offering much more information.
“We basically operated as a craft beer pub.” The business served local craft brews, but none of its own.
Lansdowne did fine, but wasn’t a blockbuster. Customers always asked about the lack of brewing.
“It wasn’t the business I wanted,” says Earley.
In December 2017, the partners called it quits, but Earley hung onto the space. He signed on with a new business partner (a mostly silent one), put in an application for a brewing licence, and hired veteran brewer Anderson Sant’anna De Lima.
In short order, the paperwork came in and the new team got making beer and did a complete renovation.
While the old business had a minimal, warehouse-style feel, the new Lot 30’s pub — which seats 80 — is all warm wood with a more cosy pub feel. (A roomy 36-seat patio right on Lansdowne just got permitted and is now open.)
“I wanted to relaunch as a new business,” Earley says. The new partners chose the name Lot 30 because that’s what the city of York labelled this area back in the 1800s.
Positing the place as a neighbourhood brewpub has worked — Lot 30 has been drawing crowds from the local area since it opened on May 4.
Earley says he could have let the business go and moved on; that might have been the most logical choice. It wasn’t just his instincts that told him to stick it out: this guy knows business.
The Humber business graduate worked in consumer product sales for many years, in industries such as toys and stationery. In 2013, he’d had enough of the corporate world.
He’d worked in bars and res- taurants in college, loved food and drink, and thought a brewpub — particularly back in 2015 when Toronto had few — would be interesting. “You want to make money, but if you have fun, it’s so much better.”
For Earley, the fun is finally here. The new chef is cooking up pub fare inspired by Toronto’s diverse neighbourhoods — Dahl& Rot if or $9, Portuguese-inspired Pimento& BeerB raised Roast Pork Sandwich for $16. Meanwhile, the beer roster focuses on balance, with an IPA, some sours, a Dubbel and a Pilsner.
This summer, the brewmaster plans to play with beers inspired by ’70s cocktails: a pina colada beer will be up first.
Earley’s tenacity seems to be paying off with the new venture: it’s going to be fun and hopefully profitable too.