A landmark Caribbean eatery is being forced to vacate its Queen Street East digs after a new landlord has ordered the restaurant off the property.
The Real Jerk recently received notice that the property located at Queen Street East and Broadview Avenue had been sold to a developer who wants the restaurant to leave by the end of the month.
Edward Pottinger, who co-owns the restaurant with his wife, Lily, has announced to customers that there is not going to be enough time for The Real Jerk to find a new place to go by the January 31 deadline.
“We would have hoped to stay longer, long enough for us to secure a new location but this will not be feasible,” Pottinger wrote on the restaurant’s Facebook page earlier this week.
“While we fight the unfair order we sadly must prepare for the real possibility that our days are numbered at the corner of Queen and Broadview, a location we have very much loved for 22 years.”
Pottinger said he and his wife intend to find a new home for The Real Jerk.
Manager Natalie Williams told CBC News that customers have sent hundreds of emails to the restaurant after hearing about its predicament.
Some customers are concerned about where they will get the spicy food they are accustomed to, while others have pledged to follow the restaurant to its future location, she said.
When The Real Jerk first opened in 1984, it was located further east, near Greenwood Avenue.
It later moved to its current location.
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