Do you remember Adam’s Rib, late 1970s, early 1980s, on the Queensway in Etobicoke with a restaurant in front, bar/disco in back?

I’ve received the following message (which I’ve lightly copy edited) at this website:

I’m wondering if anyone remembers the name of a place on the Queensway that had a restaurant in front and a bar/disco with live bands through a door in the back. Late 70s early 80s. It was close to where the IKEA entrance driveway in Etobicoke is now located.

Detail from buffet at Mandarin restaurant on the Queensway east of Kipling, Toronto, May 24, 2019. Jaan Pill photo

In my experience, sometimes we get answers to such questions pretty quickly. At other times, it can take a year or more until someone (who has the answer) comes across the question, often having to do with some detail related to local history. Or the question may be about how to get in touch with someone that a person knew many years ago.

Click here for previous posts about the Queensway >

Earlier I wrote (at this post): If you can help with this Queensway question, please let us know.

When I think of the Queensway, I think of the Mandarin restaurant on the Queensway near Kipling where we used to meet for lunches with friends from Malcolm Campbell High School, the school in Montreal that I graduated from in 1963. We now meet outdoors for picnics; we are no longer meeting indoors.

Detail from MCHS sixties luncheon on Jan. 25, 2019 at Mandarin restaurant in Toronto. Jaan Pill photo

There’s a lot of history connected with the Queensway. I look forward to learning more about the restaurant in the front and the bar/disco with live bands in the back.

Earlier I wrote: If you have any leads or information, please let us know.

Helpful suggestion received recently

One person I reached out to suggested:

I suggest they look at the Toronto City directories for these dates

https://torontofamilyhistory.org/researching-toronto-ancestors/city-directories/

Update: It’s Adam’s Rib

I got a message on Jan. 20, 2024:

Thank you I found it Adam’s Rib in the 70s and 80s great bands like Downchild Blues.

Eastwood Hotel in Long Branch (South Etobicoke), 2008. Note “Hotel” sign on building to the west of the hotel. Jaan Pill photo – CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT

Good news! I’m pleased the name has turned up. In the event any site visitors – who are familiar with Adam’s Rib on the Queensway in the late 1970s, early 1980s – would like at some point in the future to share their reminiscences, that would be great.

Click here for a profile of the Downchild Blues Band >

A post (which many people have read) which I wrote about the Eastwood Hotel in Long Branch a ways back has many good stories about people’s enjoyment of the drinking and entertainment there some decades ago:

Tales of drinking and brawling at Eastwood Hotel remind me of Norse mythology

Late 1970s Toronto

The story about Adam’s Rib on the Queensway brings to mind some of my own experiences of Toronto in the late 1970s as highlighted in posts such as:

Memories of walking along Davisville Ave. in Toronto in 1975

Downtown Yonge St. has changed since 1975, but the range of personas that you encounter remains much the same

Precarious establishment: Cinema Canada article from 1978 about Canadian independent film production in the 1970s

Those who face severe food insecurity (as I did years ago) often miss meals, or reduce their food intake

Construction billboards at Cloverdale Mall pictures redevelopment at the mall, Aug. 29, 2023. Jaan Pill photo

Construction billboard at Cloverdale Mall pictures redevelopment at the mall, Aug. 29, 2023. Jaan Pill photo

Sunrise Records at Cloverdale Mall

The story of the 1970s and 1980s bands playing at Adam’s Rib prompts me to share a Nov. 23, 2023 Walrus article entitled: “Why Sunrise Records Is Still Spinning: It survived Napster, iTunes, and streaming. Now the chain is expanding its horizons overseas.”

The Cloverdale Mall features a hallway in which photos such as this one, focusing on the history of the mall, are on display. Jaan Pill photo

During the Feb. 20, 2016 Government and Community Services Fair, Cloverdale Mall was packed with cars. In the background, where the orange rectangle is located, is the site of the former Target store at the mall. Jaan Pill photo

An excerpt reads:

THE ONLY way into Cloverdale Mall is through a parking lot. Here, in the Toronto suburb of Etobicoke, the world of retail is languid and sprawling, with a noticeably older demographic than in its downtown equivalents. A walk through the one-storey mall will take you past discount clothing outlets and an all but forgotten bookstore chain. Around a corner, past a Chinese food stall called Pick ‘N’ Chus, is a familiar red and black sign: SUNRISE.

Cloverdale Mall is near Dundas St. West a short ways north of the Queensway.

Click here for previous posts about Cloverdale Mall >

Previous posts about music

Among previous posts about music you may be interested in reading:

Stay Awhile: daughter makes doc about family band The Bells – Toronto Star, Nov. 26, 2014

Recent comments at Preserved Stories website bring to mind memories of Canadian musician Marty Butler, and of Marlborough Golf Club

Gina (Davis) Cayer (MCHS ’67) has compiled an MCHS 2015 playlist