TORONTO, May 19 — Restaurateur, tastemaker, auteur and outspoken Twitter agitator Jen Agg has announced plans to shutter one of Canada’s top restaurants, The Black Hoof in Toronto, a dining destination widely accepted as being a gamechanger in the Canadian food landscape.
Agg, who runs in the same gastronomic circles as the world’s food glitterati, announced the surprising news in an Instagram post, saying she will be shuttering its doors August 20.
“The Hoof (now in its 10th year) is so special to me — it’s where I learned how to do what I do (so often the hard way) — but it’s time. I’ve never approved of closing a busy restaurant, (seems crazy, tbh) but we’ve said all we have to, and ten years in this business is a LONG F***ING TIME. I’m so proud of what this place was and what it has become,” she wrote.
“Totally without hubris, it was a turning point for the restaurant scene in our town and has seen so many people come and go, but uncharacteristically, as so often with restaurants, it has seen many people stay, and they’ve become the heartbeat of my company — I love you all dearly you know who you are. We’ll be going hard ‘til August 20th. Come say hi/bye!”
Many of Canada’s influential food critics and local gourmands agree with Agg’s assertion that The Black Hoof, which opened in 2008, was indeed “a turning point for the restaurant scene” in Toronto, with its nose-to-tail philosophy that featured bone marrow, sweetbreads and charcuterie (the height of hipster sophistication at the time) and its irreverent, casual dining atmosphere.
The news comes shortly after Agg also announced plans to exit Montreal’s dining scene by pulling out of her Montreal bar Agrikol.
The Black Hoof not only catapulted Toronto’s reputation as a dynamic dining destination, but also made a name for Agg, an assertive restaurateur, activist and published writer (memoir “I Hear She’s a Real Bitch”) in a male-dominated industry.
Agg’s other Toronto addresses Rhum Corner and Cocktail Bar will remain open.
The Black Hoof isn’t the only high profile restaurant in the city to close. Fring’s, which is endorsed by hip hop star Drake and helmed by local celebrity chef Susur Lee’s sons Kai and Levi, is also closing next month.
The Black Hoof closes Aug. 20. — AFP-Relaxnews
