A tall order with a lot at stake
Restaurant ordered to remove wooden posts from patio despite approval from city in 2016
As patio season is set to begin, the future of a St. Clair Avenue West restaurant is in jeopardy because of a licensing dispute with the city about its al fresco seating.
“It became this little tug of war since 2022 about complying with this patio,” said Tony Merante, owner of Desoto’s Eatery.
Desoto’s opened in 2004, and Merante said he feels in recent years the city’s bylaw inspectors have been overzealous in targeting this patio for things that, he says, have been previously approved.
It’s gotten so bad that last week Merante put up a Change.org petition called “Save Desoto’s Eatery and Atomic 10 on St. Clair Ave West” to rally support for his restaurant. As of Friday, more than 3,000 people had signed it. Atomic 10 is a Mexican restaurant that he shares his patio with.
The issue right now is some wooden posts and lights strung across them. Merante said the posts and lights were approved by the city in 2016 when the patio first went up. During COVID, he put up walls and enclosed the patio, following indoor dining pandemic guidelines at the time. When he was told his enclosed patio was a temporary structure and had to come down, he complied. Now, he says the city inspectors have told him he has to take down the posts in order to reinstate his patio licence.
He has until June 19 to resolve the issue and apply for a sidewalk patio permit. His business licence renewal is on hold and could be revoked if he doesn’t comply.
“We have these eight-foot supporting posts that rails are attached to,” Merante said. “I put them there so it would hold lights and if I want to hang a planter or something off of it, it’s there.”
Merante said he doesn’t want to take down the lights because they add to the atmosphere of the patio. He said when he asked for documentation of what exactly the problem was with the wooden posts, the bylaw inspector sent him a copy of the Ontario Building Code, without any further instruction. Merante said money is very tight, as he’s still recovering financially from the pandemic. Spring and summer are his busy seasons, and if he loses the patio, he will have to lay off employees, and it might force him to close.
According to the city, Desoto’s is operating without a sidewalk patio permit and Atomic 10 is operating without an eating establishment business licence or sidewalk café permit. Atomic 10 didn’t respond to the Star’s request for comment.
“The city is in contact with the business owner to explain how they can come into compliance with the city bylaws and is actively working with the business owner to resolve the issue. The eating establishment business licence renewal for Desoto’s is on hold, till they obtain the sidewalk cafe permit,” a city spokesperson said in a statement. “These are active investigations and we are unable to provide further information at this moment.”
Merante said he’s contacted the local councillor’s office for help, but so far hasn’t heard anything in terms of resolving his issues.
“I am making every effort to find and mediate a solution for Desoto’s Eatery and Atomic10. My office is in direct contact with the business owner, Municipal Licensing & Standards, and the local business improvement area,” Coun. Alejandra Bravo (Ward 9) said in a statement when asked about this issue.
“Right now, I should be hiring for the patio season,” Merante said, “and I’m not doing any of that because I don’t know if I’m going to have a patio or if I’m going to have a business. My staff are stressed out. Why does the city make it so hard to do business?”