17 Jan 2018
Anticipation mounts for Drake's Toronto restaurant and sports bar
BY Kim Megson
Canadian rapper, producer, actor and entrepreneur Drake is turning his attention to the restaurant business.
The rapper, singer and songwriter is opening a high-end restaurant and sports bar in his hometown of Toronto, in a development on the corner of Yonge and Wellington Street.
Called Pick 6ix and run by Drake’s OVO brand and record label, the restaurant is due to open in the very near future, with an official Instagram account launched in recent days.
Acclaimed chef Antonio Park is a partner in the business and will run the kitchen. He revealed in an interview with Toronto Life that the restaurant will feature three private rooms, including a ‘VVIP Room.’
Explaining the concept behind Pick 6ix and its menu, he said: “We won’t be serving chicken wings, pizza – all the food that’s usually affiliated with sports bars. I’ve always thought it isn’t right that sports bars serve fast food. People go to sports bars because they want to watch sports, not kill themselves by eating junk food.”
While further details, including the design of the space, have been shrouded in secrecy, photos posted by Drake on Instagram reveal that velvet and gold furnishings will be a dominant theme.
Roof manufacturer OpenAire has also announced its involvement in the project, revealing that an indoor/outdoor section underneath the building's exterior overhang – conceived as an open-concept patio – will effectively double the restaurant’s permanent seating capacity.
The firm has installed five motorised drop-down windows that provide shelter during cold and wet weather but can slide down at the touch of a button to create a completely open environment to create the atmosphere of a sidewalk café.
Drake is far from the first celebrity restaurateur, and eateries have been opened in recent times by the likes of Moby, Jessica Biel and Eminem, who launched the pop-up restaurant Mom’s Spaghetti in Detroit in December.
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