A Toronto restaurant has been forced to close its doors indefinitely following a devastating fire that's been increasingly complicated by insurance companies and "inefficient" contractors. 

Stop, located at 1543 Dundas St. W., is a family-friendly restaurant known for serving up Eastern European classics, including borscht, cabbage rolls, and potato and leek tarts. 

Originally established as the Ossington Stop in 2014 at Dundas and Ossington, owner and chef Denis Ganshonkov moved the no-frills restaurant over to its new location at Dundas and Sheridan in 2021. 

After keeping the business alive through lockdowns and investing time in its new space, the restaurant was faced with another challenge on Oct. 24, when an electrical fire ripped through the landlord's basement. 

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Ganshonkov told blogTO that although the restaurant was closed on the day of the fire, the landlord didn't call 911 and was seen coming out of the basement with his hair ablaze.

"Initially I was in shock, slight disbelief. At first, terms of a few weeks were discussed. I wanted to believe it, but it became apparent that it will take longer," Ganshonkov explained. 

From there, the incident has snowballed into a "giant insurance company dealings mess," leading the restaurant to keep its doors closed amid visits from contractors and uncertainties about what repairs need to be made. 

The restaurant has been without power since the fire on Oct. 24. Photo: Denis Ganshonkov.

"There has been a lot of time wasted already, with no real work started. Intact [the landlord's insurance company] keeps sending more and more inspectors, thus stalling the process of the landlord filing the claim to begin actual work," Ganshonkov told blogTO. 

"Since it's between insurance companies, I do not get any direct updates. They keep a lot of the information between each other and their contractors. My insurance company [Cansure] has been a little more helpful." 

Despite the contractor visits, Ganshonkov says he still has zero indication when the restaurant might be able to open its doors again. 

"Still no power, no heat, no timelines. And every day it seems that something else is adding to prolong this situation. With this wait period and looming construction, I am almost certain that we will not be reopening this year. Unless a miracle happens," he said. 

In a series of Instagram stories, Ganshonkov also uploaded images showing contractors working in the dark, without flashlights, generators, steel-toe boots or hats. 

The restaurant's wine storage was also flooded by the fire hoses. Photo: Denis Ganshonkov.

"Inspections happen sporadically, and it seems that it's a never-ending process," he wrote in an update. 

During its unanticipated closure, Ganshonkov says the restaurant's customer base has been nothing but supportive and kind. 

"My staff and I worked so hard for this business. I went through the wild last three years of COVID, the initial forced move to the current location, more COVID, changing concept on the fly, and investing so much money and time into the space to have to now deal with robotic people who absolutely have no sympathy, humility or care," he told blogTO. 

"This has been extremely tough to deal with."