Double Ds Toronto

Toronto pizza joint is permanently closing and they're blaming Doug Ford

Deep dish pizza joints have been popping up in Toronto for a while now, but one of the first to open here is now closing their last remaining location.

Double D's closed their original location in Leslieville in early March, just before the pandemic would hit and unfortunately decimate their last remaining location on Lake Shore. They also had a location on Dundas West for a while.

Their deep dish pizzas were true to tradition, very thick pizzas loaded with gooey, stretchy cheese and toppings.

The restaurant has been posting photos to Instagram with slightly cryptic captions that seemed to imply they would be closed within a month.

"We are closing because of the way Doug Ford and Ontario handled the pandemic," owner Mike Yaworski tells blogTO.

"Now that all the subsidies are done, with the massive debt I've incurred waiting patiently to open, it will be impossible to recover. People are not lining up to dine indoors at the moment."

Yaworski isn't sure what will be taking over the Lake Shore location of Double D's. The location will be officially closed by the end of August.

"Me and my family have left Toronto altogether," says Yaworski. "Sold our house, done."

Unfortunately, that means deep dish lovers in Toronto shouldn't expect a comeback or other restaurant projects from him.

At least one source for Chicago-inspired pies is still around, though, and it's halal too.

Lead photo by

Hector Vasquez


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