After months of delays getting approval for a liquor licence, what was meant to be a neighbourhood wine bar has officially pivoted into a full-time brunch and lunch eatery.
Today, Etobicoke’s Pinky Swear is serving non-alcoholic cocktails and breakfast masterpieces, but with the deep love of wine they crafted over years in the industry, owners Neil Brown and Ayana Miller originally intended for that to be the focus of the restaurant — after all, there’s even a wine glass in the logo.
“We’ve always had such a nerdy approach to wine,” Miller jokes. “We always wanted to have a neighbourhood spot that felt like you could come in and geek out about wine, but still have a cool, fun time. It didn’t always have to be about nerding out, it was about the connection.”
“You can’t get excited about wine and not want to share it with other people,” adds Brown, noting that the human connection Miller spoke about is the “backbone” of hospitality — and the inspiration behind the restaurant’s name.
“Even a pinky swear is a connection in the sense that it’s a promise that can’t be made without human connection, and that’s really what we wanted to do with the space.”
Though connection is still the focus at this “upcycled minimalist” restaurant — decorated with scrapped and repurposed furniture — the connections are happening a bit earlier in the day than Miller and Brown originally planned. Though they submitted the application to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario in October after signing their lease, they were “blindsided” to learn there were unresolved permits that the city had never closed.
“We did our due diligence, we looked on the city’s map, we called the city, and ultimately, the permits were on the wrong address,” says Brown, “so we didn’t know that they were there.”
As a result, Pinky Swear made the pivot to launch a zero-proof beverage program alongside dinner. It was a smooth transition for Miller, who also serves as head of sales for Acquired Taste, a national non-alcoholic beverage importing company.
“It was always going to be a main focus of our space (to include alcohol-free offerings) more in the idea of inclusivity,” Miller says. “It was to offer variety for everybody so that the space could be more of the neighbourhood spot that you go all the time, even if you didn’t feel like drinking or you didn’t feel like eating.”
“It’s just far more extensive than we thought it would be,” says Brown of the zero-proof program.
Responding to what the neighbourhood was asking for despite the ongoing delays, Miller and Brown launched a Sunday brunch which turned into a weekend brunch. Now, Pinky Swear is a dedicated brunch and lunch destination, open Tuesdays through Sundays 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
“We have no real timeline in regards to this resolution of the permitting and what is required, so we figured we could either shrivel up and die or we could continue and figure out which way was the best way forward,” says Miller.
If the neighbourhood is disappointed by the pivot, it’s not showing given the popularity of the signature dishes like the breakfast cassoulet — a personal favourite for Brown, offering a French-style bean stew with fennel bread topped with poached eggs.
Other showstoppers are the potato latke topped with prosciutto and a grapefruit-sage cream, and the French toast, made with a homemade focaccia and topped with a berry syrup. There’s even a kid’s pizza pocket for the youngsters dining in!
To pair with the decadent dishes, Pinky Swear serves up non-alcoholic beer from Bellwoods Brewery, ready-made cocktail drinks from Fin Soda and signature cocktails made with products from JNPR’s line of zero-proof spirits.
One of the most popular is the Chappell Roan- and cosmo-inspired Pink Pony Club, complete with a cranberry base, the JNPR zero-proof gin infused with Pluck lavender Earl Grey tea and given some zest with freshly squeezed lime juice.
While Miller and Brown’s extensive experience has introduced them to the “unicorns of wine” which they want to share with the neighbourhood, when they are finally able to open the wine bar, it will not take away from the offerings already on the menu.
“It would be an extension of the program, like an all-day scenario that’s part of your circadian rhythm,” says Miller. “You could come here for breakfast, you could come here for lunch, you could come here for after-dinner drinks and always for a community feel.”
The duo maintain that the challenges will not stop them from introducing diners to their neighbourhood.
“Lakeshore Village is such a cool spot of Toronto that I feel is underexplored and the lake is literally just a block away from us with these beautiful parks,” says Miller. “There’s just a great community and we would like to be here for a long period of time and see this rejuvenate into an active spot.”
