Service industry couple David Still and Maty Gignac have opened their dream snack bar in Leslieville, Bar Mini, complete with affordable eats, local brews and wines, and unique cocktails.
Still was born and raised in Toronto and has always cooked as a hobby. He worked at The Comrade for nine years before bouncing around to different spots in the east end. Meanwhile Gignac came from Vancouver, and has a long history of working in restaurants. The idea of a late night snack bar however, always appealed to the pair.
They met working in kitchens about a decade ago, an intimate experience that evolved them from co-workers to friends and eventually romantic partners (they’ve now been together for over five years).
“In this industry, its kind of like that, you can spend a lot of time working with someone and realize that they’re a perfect fit for your life,” says Still.
The couple didn’t anticipate owning their own place so soon, rather they’d been enjoying the pop-up route. Since they have a lot of friends in the east end who own their places, they’ve spent the last couple of years hosting pop-up food programs. While working together at Queen East tavern Goods and Provisions, they spent eight months running such a program at nearby wine bar Chez Nous, whose owner Laura Carr is a close friend.
“We thought that was going to be our path, and that one day, the right place would come along,” says Still. “But then it kind of jumped out at us.”
Two doors down from Goods and Provisions, was Greta Solomon’s, a French restaurant that the owner had been trying to sell for a while. One day she was over chatting with Still and Gignac about the space, when it occurred to him that it was at least worth a proper look. Before he and Gignac knew it, they were making an offer and being handed the keys.
“We’d been looking [before],” said Still. “We looked on Danforth, we looked on Gerard, and nothing was really perfect, and then we realized this one right on Queen was the one.” A month after the key handover, they opened Bar Mini. “Today is the first day in almost 40 days, that I haven’t been in that restaurant,” laughs Still.
The bar will be open Thursday to Monday from 5 p.m. to midnight, though Still says they’ll stay open a bit later if the place is really busy. The food is intended to be accessible and not fancy (you’re unlikely to spot an ingredient you don’t know), like Oysters by The Pair for $7, Chips and Dill Pickle Dip for $13, and a Fried Mortadella Sandwich for $17. “Accessibility is our core tenant, both pricing and ingredient wise” he says, adding that one can eat through the whole food menu for under $100. “We want it to be really easy, breezy and low pressure.”
The bar menu has a large cocktail focus, with custom drinks priced at $17 like Velvet Beetle, a chocolate milk washed rum Negroni and Big Dipper, a matcha washed gin cocktail. Beers and wines are largely sourced locally, with beers from Rorschach, Left Field and Harmon’s Non-Alcoholic Craft Brewing. “All of them are in a one or two kilometer radius from us,” says Still. Wine bottles range more widely in price, from $40-$100, including those made by local wineries Paradise Grapevine, The Living Vine, and Traynor Family Vineyard.
“It’s really important to us that Bar Mini is a platform for Toronto, specifically East End Toronto,” says Still. “It’s a vibrant city and place and we want to work with people in our surrounding area.”
The focus is on community over hype—keeping things relaxed, local and welcoming.
“We like to think of ourselves more as a stop along the way, as opposed to a huge destination for the night,” says Still. “But obviously, if you want to make it a destination, we’re here for you.”
You can visit Bar Mini at 1118 Queen St. E.
