Sneaky Dee's is a concert venue and

Tex-Mex Tex-Mex cuisine (from the words ''Texan'' and ''Mexican'') is an American cuisine, American cuisine that derives from the culinary creations of the Tejanos, ''Tejano'' people of Texas. It has spread from border states such as Texas and others i ...

restaurant in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Canada. Originally opened in 1987 on the north west corner of

Bloor Street Bloor Street is a major east–west residential and commercial thoroughfare in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Bloor Street runs from the Prince Edward Viaduct, which spans the Don River Valley, westward into Mississauga where it ends at Central Parkw ...

and Bathurst, it moved to its present location at

College A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

and Bathurst in 1990.

History

562 Bloor West

Sneaky Dee's opened as a 24-hour restaurant at 562 Bloor Street in 1987. The basement contained a performance venue, which hosted the first

Toronto Fringe Festival The Toronto Fringe Festival is an annual theatre festival, featuring un-juried plays by unknown or well-known artists, taking place in the theatres of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Several productions originally mounted at the Fringe have later been ...

in 1989.

431 College

It moved to its current location at 431 College Street in 1990 and became a major venue for

Canadian punk rock The first punk rock bands in Canada emerged during the late 1970s, in the wake of the US bands Ramones, The New York Dolls, and Blondie, and the UK band Sex Pistols. The Viletones, the Diodes and the Demics were among the pioneers, together with t ...

, hosting Armed and Hammered and other bands. In the early 1990s, Sneaky Dee's was a popular destination for

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were ...

and

Anti-Racist Action Anti-Racist Action (ARA), also known as the Anti-Racist Action Network, is a decentralized network of militant far-left political cells in the United States and Canada. The ARA network originated in the late 1980s to engage in direct action (inc ...

(ARA) activists, and was the scene of a 1993 brawl between activists and the neo-Nazi

Heritage Front The Heritage Front was a Canadian neo-Nazi white supremacist organization founded in 1989 and disbanded around 2005. The Heritage Front maintained a telephone message line with a different editorial each day. The voice on the hotline was Gary ...

after the vandalizing of a

white supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other Race (human classification), races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any Power (social and polit ...

's house in the east end. After briefly hosting DJs exclusively in the late 1990s, Sneaky Dee's returned to hosting live music in 2002. Since 2011, local bands and artists have been invited to create signature dishes, including

City and Colour Dallas Michael John Albert Green (born September 29, 1980) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who records under the name City and Colour. He is also known for his contributions as a singer, rhythm guitarist and songwr ...

's "Northern Blues Nachos",

Cancer Bats Cancer Bats is a Canadian hardcore punk band from Toronto, Ontario. To date, they have released seven studio albums and six extended plays; with their most recent LP, ''Psychic Jailbreak'', having been released on 15 April 2022. The band is cur ...

' "The Destroyer",

Sparrows Sparrow may refer to: Birds * Old World sparrows, family Passeridae * New World sparrows, family Passerellidae * two species in the Passerine family Estrildidae: ** Java sparrow ** Timor sparrow * Hedge sparrow, also known as the dunnock or hed ...

' "Fifth Helena Homefries",

Lights Light is an electromagnetic radiation, part of which stimulates the sense of vision. Light or Lights may also refer to: Illumination * Light bulb * Traffic light Arts and entertainment Music * Lights (musician) (born 1987), Canadian singer-son ...

' "Cactus in The Valley Nachos",

Death From Above 1979 Death from Above 1979 (also known as Death from Above) is a Canadian rock duo consisting of bassist Jesse F. Keeler and drummer and vocalist Sebastien Grainger from Toronto, Ontario, formed in 2001. The band released their debut album, '' You're ...

's "DFA Nachos", and

Fucked Up Fucked Up is a Canadian hardcore punk band from Toronto, Ontario, formed in 2001. The band consists of Damian Abraham (vocals), Mike Haliechuk (guitar, vocals), Josh Zucker (guitar), Sandy Miranda (bass), and Jonah Falco (drums, vocals). From 2 ...

's two breakfast dishes "The Queen of Heart Attacks" and "Fucked Up Breakfast". In September 2020, a proposal was submitted to the city of Toronto to demolish Sneaky Dee's and its surrounding buildings to construct a 13-story mixed-use

condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership structure whereby a building is divided into several units that are each separately owned, surrounded by common areas that are jointly owned. The term can be applied to the building or complex ...

. Toronto city councilor

Mike Layton Michael Layton (born November 26, 1980) is a Canadian politician who served on Toronto City Council from 2010 until 2022. Layton most recently represented Ward 11 University—Rosedale. He was first elected in the 2010 municipal election in W ...

voiced his opposition to the proposal, noting that Sneaky Dee's is "an iconic site and it would really be sad to see them go."

Impact

Sneaky Dee's is noted as a major venue for

alternative culture Alternative culture is a type of culture that exists outside or on the fringes of mainstream or popular culture, usually under the domain of one or more subcultures. These subcultures may have little or nothing in common besides their relative ...

and

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

in Toronto. The venue hosted the long-running

Wavelength Music Arts Projects Wavelength is a music series and annual festival held in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The project was founded in 2000 by Jonny Dovercourt, Duncan MacDonell (Doc Pickles), and Derek Westerholm. It was founded on the basis that many others would share ...

and the

Trampoline Hall Trampoline Hall is a barroom lecture series started by Canadian author Sheila Heti in Toronto. It has been sold out consistently since 2001. Format Trampoline Hall is held every month at The Garrison, a club in Toronto's west end. The program co ...

Lecture Series, until both series moved to The Garrison in October 2009. Notable artists who have performed at Sneaky Dee's include

Kids on TV Kids on TV was a Canadian punk- house queercore band from Toronto, active from 2003 to 2013. The group consisted of John Caffery on bass and vocals, Minus Smile on drums, electronics and vocals, Chris 'Wolf' Mills on guitar and vocals, and Roxan ...

Dirty Projectors Dirty Projectors is an American indie rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002. The band is the project of singer-songwriter David Longstreth, who has served as the band's sole constant member throughout numerous line-up changes. The b ...

, Feist,

Barcelona Pavilion The Barcelona Pavilion ( ca, Pavelló alemany; es, Pabellón alemán; "German Pavilion"), designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich, was the German Pavilion for the 1929 International Exposition in Barcelona, Spain. This building w ...

Owen Pallett Michael James Owen Pallett (born September 7, 1979) is a Canadian composer, violinist, keyboardist, and vocalist. Under their erstwhile moniker of Final Fantasy, Pallett won the 2006 Polaris Music Prize for the album ''He Poos Clouds''. Pallet ...

, Pup, Comeback Kid,

The Flatliners The Flatliners are a Canadian punk rock band from Richmond Hill, Ontario. Since their formation in 2002, the band has been a growing influence in the Toronto punk/ska movement, with consistently well-received albums and live shows. History ...

, Gob, Nails, Living With Lions,

Broken Social Scene Broken Social Scene is a Canadians, Canadian indie rock band, a musical collective including as few as six and as many as nineteen members, formed by Kevin Drew (vocals, guitar) and Brendan Canning (vocals, bass) in 1999. Alongside Drew and Cannin ...

, Real Zombies Never Die, and

Republic of Safety Republic of Safety was a Canadian indie rock band from Toronto, Ontario, known for including political content in their performances and recordings. History Republic of Safety was formed in 2005. The original members were vocalist Maggie MacDonal ...

. Sneaky Dee's was also featured in the ''

Scott Pilgrim ''Scott Pilgrim'' is a series of graphic novels by Canadian author and comic book artist Bryan Lee O'Malley. The series is about Scott Pilgrim, a slacker and part-time musician who lives in Toronto, Ontario, and plays bass ‍in a band. He fal ...

'' series of graphic novels written by

Bryan Lee O'Malley Bryan Lee O'Malley (born February 21, 1979) is a Canadian cartoonist, best known for the ''Scott Pilgrim'' series. He also performs as a musician under the alias Kupek. Career Bryan Lee O'Malley attended St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Secondary Sc ...

.A brief history of Sneaky Dee's
, BlogTO, 24 May 2014

References

External links

Official website
Music venues in Toronto Restaurants in Toronto Nightclubs in Toronto {{Restaurants in Toronto