Tours, colourful promotional displays, giveaways and more to welcome patrons to summer/fall al fresco dining experience
Toronto, ON – To mark the return of the City’s CafeTO program, two Business Improvement Areas have teamed up to launch ‘Queen East Eats’ – a unique, first-of-its-kind collaboration to promote the ‘support local’ experience and a patio season like no other on their shared main street.
Queen Eats East is a promotional collaboration between the Riverside BIA (Queen St E between Davies and Empire Avenues) and Leslieville BIA (Queen St E between Empire and Vancouver Avenues). The goal is to drum up support and increase foot traffic to outdoor dining at 50+ local restaurants, bars and cafes, and make the Queen East strip the preferred summer destination to experience al fresco dining.
Through a series of exciting activations such as patio map, tours, contests, and public art over summer and fall 2021, the program aims to attract tourism to the east end neighbourhoods of Riverside and Leslieville. By leveraging the appeal of their many famous eating and drinking establishments as anchors, the BIAs are leading local pandemic economic recovery efforts.
Why ‘Queen East Eats’?
The neighbouring BIAs share many common features, including a diverse catalogue of small independent businesses along Queen Street, one of Toronto’s economic driving forces. Queen Street East maintains a close relationship with its surrounding communities.
This relationship is a springboard to launch this exciting summer/fall dining program, with the support of partners including the City of Toronto CafeTO program, and community sponsors including Hullmark, Wright Sisters Group, Outline Financial and Radical Road Brewing Co Marketplace. While the program caters to their communities, they are reimagining and creating a vibrant main street to support economic recovery and welcome tourism back in a safe way.
Highlights of Queen East Eats
- A detailed map identifying 50+ outdoor patios in both BIAs, with links and information to each location.
- Self-guided/ small group guided patio tours, exploring various culinary themes.
- Public parklets, featuring public art installations and spaces for patrons to unwind.
- Specially curated public art pieces along a 3 km stretch.
- BIA monthly giveaways to some of the east end’s most talked-about restaurants, bars, and cafes.
- Many food and drink specials from popular neighbourhood eateries and drinkeries
- An extended patio season, with the program running until November 2021.
Patrons are invited to subscribe to #queeneasteats across the BIAs’ social media platforms and to stay connected to these networks for exciting updates on the Queen East Eats program.
For more information, please contact us
About the Riverside BIA – www.riverside-to.com
The Riverside BIA, established in 1980, is one of Canada’s first BIA’s, located along Queen Street East between the Queen Street Viaduct to just past De Grassi Street. Rich in history, green spaces and public art, the BIA includes over 100 unique eateries, retails shops, boutiques and a range of professional services.
About the Leslieville BIA – www.visitleslieville.ca
Representing over 200 businesses and property owners along Queen Street East from Empire to Vancouver Avenues, the Leslieville BIA strives to create and maintain a sustainable and vibrant commercial Main street. As an award-winning Main Street recognized for its marketing efforts, it taps into its biggest assets, including being a preferred destination for film, world-class restaurants, and a landing place for the creative community, to attract tourism. It maintains a strong focus on animating its Main Street to encourage patrons to walk and shop the strip.