On a typical weekend night, strollers on Commercial Drive can catch jazz or blues at the Libra Room, rock or ska at Falconettis, a hippie jam band or singer/songwriter at Café Deux Soleils and standards in an old-school supper-club style at Federicos.
Already well known for its independent grocers, Italian cafés and bongo drums not to mention sidewalk chalk drawings, pop-up street bazaars and one-dollar pizza joints the Eastside neighbourhood is also home to a thriving entertainment scene.
Ian McSorley, for one, would like to see Commercial Drive become more synonymous with a night out on the town. I think its something we could give higher profile to; I dont think people are aware of that activity on the Drive, says McSorley, co-chair of the Commercial Drive Business Association marketing committee. Its up to us to do a better job profiling that.
Theres lots to get the word out about, from blues and comedy at the Prophouse Café, at Venables, to live bands and DJs at Tobys Pub & Grill, near 12th. In between theres The Rio, on Broadway near Commercial, an all-purpose venue that alternates between live music (local and international touring acts), burlesque, comedy and movies (first-run, retro and cult); Timbre Restaurant, where a bluegrass band livens up weekend brunch; the Legion, which hosts events like Video Game Burlesque to Dances for a Small Stage; the Zawa Club, and more.
The Libra Room is another hotspot; it offers live music nightly, and occasionally during Sunday brunch. Therere so many local musicians, and I mean people who live in the neighbourhood and are looking for a place to play, says Libra owner Rico Bondi.I think having local musicians play here makes a difference for the whole street vibe.
Bondi notes that one of the musicians who plays the room is also the owner of Highlife Records, a long-standing Commercial Drive fixture.This urban-village feel extends to other businesses, as local owners and shopkeepers support each other by buying sometimes as local as two doors down.
There is a self-reliant aspect to the neighbourhood as well.
Havana serves ocean-wise seafood; they go up the street to the Daily Catch to buy their fish, says McSorley, naming a Drive restaurant/theatre and fishmonger, respectively. Marco Cornale [of Fratellis Bakery] walks next door to La Grotta Del Formaggio for his cheese. If you need something, its there on Commercial.
Federico Fuoco, who runs and sings at Federicos Supper Club says hes seen some changes in the neighbourhood since opening his establishment 13 years ago. There are more young families now, he says, and a couple of coffee chains have moved in. But something about the Drive resists seismic shifts.
Tim Hortons came in, and it didnt disrupt anything, says Fuoco. Same with Starbucks. I think theres so much character entrenched here it would take a lot to disrupt things. People adapt to what the Drive is, rather than the Drive adapting.
His own business has begun to attract more locals, whom he thinks may once have been suspicious of just what supper club entails which, for Federicos, can mean anything from comedy roasts (comedian Patrick Maliha is booked for April 19), to ventriloquism, to Michael Bublé-style (or Frank Sinatra, if you prefer) crooning. Along with dinner and dancing, of course.
When I first opened I think people might have thought it was private or too expensive, but now were getting a lot more people from this area as well. Its been a lot better in the last five years in that regard.
In the coming months, the BIA will be working to promote not just the diverse offerings at Federicos but also the many other entertainment options offered by the areas restaurants, bars and theatres. And you might just find yourself walking Commercial on a Friday night, trying to decide between comedy, theatre or that drum circle in the park.
