The doors at 828 Eastern Avenue are locked, but Slammie Sammies owners Pedro Dos Santos and Marilyn Simms didn’t close their eatery — they were locked out by their landlord. Inside, they’ve been forced to leave everything behind, including Dos Santos’s professional knives and the $20,000 commercial suppression hood he paid for out of pocket, along with much more.
The situation is complicated by the fact that their landlord is also their business partner. Jermaine (Jay) Williams says he locked Dos Santos and Simms out over unpaid debts — which he puts at more than $90,000 — and alleges misuse of company funds, calling some charges fraudulent. Dos Santos and Simms deny those claims. At the centre of it all is a dispute over how their partnership agreement is being interpreted, one that’s now dragged on for over a month with no clear resolution in sight.
Writer Marie Pascual detailed the entire legal battle on her Substack, providing documentation of legal agreements and other financial statements. But in the fallout, a Leslieville staple — one loved by its community and the workers who keep Toronto going — remains closed.
“The ideal situation is to get all of our equipment back,” say Simms and Dos Santos. And they believe that their business partner, Williams (who they met on Kijiji), had ulterior motives throughout the partnership. “The equity partners that Jay brought in were interested in taking control of this space from the start to bring flowers into the business that we didn’t want. It felt pre-meditated and our worst suspicions came true. They now have control of the space. With no restaurant experience, it will be interesting to see how they do.”
For his part, Williams says that the space will house a new, completely different concept.
“To clarify: we are not taking over the Slammie Sammies brand, name, or recipes… Whatever opens up there will be nothing like Slammie Sammies,” he told Pascual in response to her article. “For anyone feeling nostalgic and who specially requests it however, can still enjoy some of those tasty sandwiches as they can still be produced by special order. After all, we paid $75,000 for those recipes, didn’t we?”
Even with the Slammie Sammies sign already down and the space at 828 Eastern Avenue seemingly being prepped for something new, Dos Santos and Simms say they’re not giving up on the brand — or the sandwiches people lined up for — just yet.
“We want the public to know that the Slammie Sammies brand is built on integrity, good people making good food. It’s just that simple,” they say. “Slammie Sammies will be back.”
