News

Canada opens chef-driven food hall

January 29, 2018

Assembly — a chef-driven food hall — opened today in Toronto, housing 17 restaurant concepts from some of the city's top chefs, according to a company press release.
 
"Assembly will transform Toronto's gastronomic landscape by bringing together 17 acclaimed local chefs under one roof," Andreas Antoniou, developer and principal of Assembly, said in the release. "For a city that loves authentic food experiences, our design forward, fun, and fully liquor-licensed environment offers an unrivaled collection of Toronto's best."

The  17 restaurant brands include spin-offs from the teams behind Bulldog Coffee, Cherry Street BBQ, DaiLo, Hibiscus, Khao San Road, Los Colibris & El Caballito, Love Chix, Nutbar, Ramen Isshin, Bar Reyna, Short & Sweet Bakeshop, The Good Son and Tokyo Smoke. Additionally, current and former chefs of The Chase & Colette, Raca Café & Ufficio, Little Anthony's and Shoushin are will launch five new concepts within the space.

Each will serve its signature dishes each day and night as well as weekends. Additionally, an 18th spot will serve as a rotational pop-up for local and visiting chefs to test new concepts, according to the release.

Assembly is located at the Richmond-Adelaide Centre in the heart of downtown Toronto, where within two kilometers more than 500,000 people work, 19 hotels operate and more than 200,000 live. Along with the 17 restaurants, Assembly has a beer hall, coffee bar and more than 3,000 square feet of outdoor patio space.

While feeding the foodie culture is one piece of the puzzle, Assembly's objective is to incubate concepts and support Toronto's most talented independent chefs, Antoniou said.

"For more than 30 years, chain restaurants and fast food operators have boxed out local chefs from 'A' locations downtown with patio and PATH connections," he said.  "Prohibitive rental rates, launch costs and development complexities made it virtually impossible for independent chefs to access the core. Assembly Chef's Hall solves this problem and provides shared services so local chefs can focus on what really matters: food and service."

For participating chefs at Assembly, the typical concerns that come with running a restaurant are minimized. The guiding principle is that when chefs don't have to worry about front-of-house operation and administration, they are free to focus on what they do best, which is cooking great food and interacting with guests, Antoniou said.

"Assembly has been curated to offer guests a wide range of best-in-class food and beverage, morning, noon and night," he said. "From whole lobsters to fried chicken to custom birthday cakes to vegan ice cream and everything in between, there is something for everyone to celebrate a great evening."