In the summer of 2001, the boss was spending a lot of time out of the office. There had been an abrupt change of locally elected representation involving the provincial social democrats. The boss always throws himself into that kind of effort, no matter how much we protest. Anyway, he was back at work in late September. One of his neighbourhood discoveries was a new bar/bistro hotspot right around the corner called The Renaissance Café. We thought he was kidding when he described the place--the owner featured draft beer from local craft breweries, coffee that he roasted himself, live music, art and photo exhibitions on the walls, poetry readings, spoken word events and other kinds of imaginative stuff like that.
We all thought he was putting us on. The boss's daughter put it best when she asked: "On our section of the Danforth? That part where I walk to school? The home of The Crossroads Tavern that seems to be run by a disciple of Nick Martini, the publican from the bad dream part of It's a Wonderful Life? Dad, you can pull that kind of gag with your friends from Simcoe County, but no one here just fell off a turnip truck." We all promised to check the place out the next time we could. To our surprise, the boss wasn't kidding at all. For a while the boss's wife was the only holdout. When we came back singing praise about the place in 2003, she chimed in with a bon mot from a Globe and Mail, Annex-based columnist, who had recently completed a heroic bike expedition along the Danforth from Coxwell to Victoria Park and pronounced the region "a shabby wasteland." However, a short time later, she dropped in on a Saturday to sample a cup of fair-trade, shade-grown Nicaraguan Maragogype coffee. She was won over and that coffee became a household standard.
Randal Clarke, the proprietor, was everything the boss claimed and more. Over the years, we've all slipped away on many occasions to enjoy a memorable pint or cup of coffee. Saturday afternoons were the boss's favourite time. When The Country Music Store closed, the Saturday country music jam that used to take place there needed a new home and Randal provided it. The short video below is from part of the jam that took place on Saturday, February 7. It was the harp man's birthday and the afternoon featured all kinds of music, including instrumentals like this, bits of John Prine, Steve Goodman, Long Black Veil and much more. Over the last eight years there have been many special evenings at The Renaissance: movie nights, jazz festivals, political cabaret nights, an arts week celebration, a memorable political victory party and more. And there were the regular poetry and music events that really defy any short description.
All good things do seem to come to an end. And you really don't know what you've got till it's gone. The Renaissance closed this weekend with a three-day extravaganza. The Final Pour was on Saturday, May 9. Some of the regular events will move elsewhere. Imitation being the sincerest form of flattery, there now are a lot of other places in the neighbourhood that offer live music and readings. So the poets and pickers and spoken word artists do have some local options. We all owe Randal a huge vote of thanks. Our local stretch of the Danforth was one part of the world that actually did change after September 11, 2001. It changed for the better. Sadly, it won't be the same without The Renaissance.
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