harrys burger toronto

Popular Toronto burger joint closing after over 50 years

All good things must come to an end. This is the sad case for one of Toronto's most beloved and eccentric late night diners.

Harry's in Parkdale has been around since 1968, owned and operated by the Petropoulos brothers for much of that time until Grant van Gameren took it over around 2016.

The restaurant announced in a heartfelt post to Instagram that come fall, Harry's will no longer reside in its quirky space.

Well folks. The time has finally come for Harry’s to sling its last burger at 160 Springhurst Ave. We always knew it wasn’t forever but there was always a dream of preserving this gem for as long as humanly possible. With recent rent increases, a 6 month demo clause hovering over our heads and unexpected infrastructure costs required to maintain this location, it's time for us to close this chapter and find a new home for Harry’s. We invite EVERYONE to please join us over the next 7 weeks until our last service on October 5th for a night that you will surely remember! That's still a total of 51 days to eat burgers, 7 Spaghetti Tuesdays, and 2 remaining BOGO Rent Week Specials. Before opening, people were very suspicious of the new owners. (Very suspicious!!) Rumours of a Margarita bar went viral. Two months after opening, the No Frills roof collapsed. But overtime, the community both old and new embraced us. For that, we will be forever grateful. Thank you to our staff both past and present for believing in Harry’s. You guys are an extension of Harry’s and none of this could have been possible without you! To our OG’s… John, Nadeen, Sandy, Penny, Bobby, Harvey, June, David, Victor, Lawrence, Sue, Stephen, Jimmy, Trevor, Daphne, Marianne, and Mrs Kim. Thank you for believing In Version 2.0. To our neighbourhood guardian, Dave. Thank you for always watching our back. To all our new regulars. Thank you for supporting us and we look forward to serving you again in 2020. To Parkdale for always keeping things interesting. And last but not least, to the original dudes who started Harry’s 51 years ago. George, Tommy and Sam. We only ever met Sam through pictures and George always complained about our beer selection. Tommy…. Behind that ‘hard as fuck' egg cooking stare and the two years of negotiations finally decided it was time to retire and handed us the keys to three unforgettable years...1/2

A post shared by Harry's (@harryscharbroiled) on

"With recent rent increases, a 6 month demo clause hovering over our heads and unexpected infrastructure costs required to maintain this location, it's time for us to close this chapter and find a new home for Harry's," the post states.

Situated at 160 Springhurst, Harry's is uniquely tucked away behind a No Frills and laundromat, which gave the moody dive its distinctive speakeasy feel.

They were always known for their charbroiled burgers, and though the new ownership was a little controversial great burgers continued to be served for cheap, like their now-famed Plain Jane as well as chorizo burgers. Brunch for hungover Parkdalians was also a hit.

The last day of service for Harry’s will be October 5, which they promise will be "a night that you will surely remember."

It seems like burger die-hards won't have to go cold turkey, though. Harry's promises they'll be popping up at all kinds of events around the city with a fun new mobile project starting in spring 2020 while they look for a new permanent home.

Lead photo by

Jesse Milns


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