Leslieville is Toronto’s east side neighbourhood buzzing with activity and hipster shops. This trendy ‘hood along Queen East is the new Queen Street West, as the New York Times once proclaimed. In recent years, the gritty storefronts have been redeveloped into hip baby shops, art galleries and restaurants. It’s the place to chow down with spots like Ed’s Real Scoop for their homemade burnt marshmallow ice cream, Queen Margherita Pizza, and Eastside Social, the neighbourhood hangout for a bowl of clam chowder. The area is a prime real estate pocket for young families and new developments like a future boutique hotel at Queen and Broadview are changing the area.
Here are three more things you might not know about Leslieville.
1. It has one of the most expensive furniture stores in the city.
Don’t be confused by the name—Leslieville’s Avenue Road is located on Eastern Avenue. Opened in the former Consumers Gas Company warehouse, it’s filled with 15,000 square feet of high-end contemporary furnishings and home decor. There’s amazing designers for those design junkies and pricey pieces like a $60,000 handmade rug.
2. Director Guillermo del Toro lives in the area.
Canadian director Guillermo del Toro loves his Leslieville neighbourhood so much he often films in the east end. His big budget movies like Pacific Rim and Crimson Peak were filmed around the city and inside the neighbourhood’s large film studio. The director has a small office in Leslieville and calls Toronto “an eminently livable city.”
3. There’s a barbecue joint that’s also a gas station.
Leslieville Pumps is the city’s only barbecue joint that’s also a gas station. Located at Queen and Carlaw, the owners transformed a former Country Style to create the best smelling gas station around. Patrons fuel up on homemade brisket sandwiches, smoked chicken, beans and gas.
Also check out 3 Things You Might Not Know About Little Italy.
Photo via @flickr
