A chain specializing in gluten-free and whole wheat pizza that once had around half a dozen locations has now shuttered all of its stores.

Magic Oven pizza could once be found in Liberty Village, Corktown, Junction, Wellesley and the Danforth, but now the business is no more. 

"We closed the 1450 Danforth Ave. location on December 15, 2019," says owner Tony Sabherwal. "Over the last 23 years of Magic Oven we became the lifeline for a lot of amazing patrons."

He can even "recount numerous stories of kids being born after their very pregnant moms had our pizza as their last crave-food."

Imagine Toronto over two decades ago: no Virtuous Pie, no Apiecalypse Now! Fast forward to 2020, and options for vegan pizza have become much more numerous, even mainstream.

"A large portion of our niche offerings (vegan, gluten free, dairy free) became commonplace," says Sabherwal. "We had opened all our locations within a year or two of each other and all of them had leases that needed to be renegotiated.

"Instead of fighting with landlords, suffering reduced margins and making life miserable for us, we decided on the path of least resistance: go home, relax, regroup, come back and play again."

But never fear, food lovers: this is not the end for Magic Oven.

"In the meantime, you will see us with our new baby 6ixTriangles at pop-ups, farmer's markets and in Liberty Village," says Sabherwal. The concept serves Indian classics like samosas, chana masala and kababs. 

He says they're also "working on a deliciously healthy menu offering that is served in a cool and comfortable space that is as organic and re-purposed as possible. It will likely be outside the downtown core (like Liberty Village). Our timeline for opening is late 2020."