TORONTO – The owners of The Real Jerk restaurant at Queen St. and Broadview Ave. is seeking a court injunction to keep their business open.
The building that has housed the restaurant, a staple of east-end Toronto for 27 years, was sold by its owners on December 30, 2011.
The court proceedings started at 10 a.m. Tuesday, as the owners of the Real Jerk fought to keep their Riverside location. Though as Mark Mcallister, reporter for Global Toronto, reported on Twitter, “New owners of property where #TheRealJerk now sits have already arranged new lease agreement for pub to move into space tomorrow.”
The owners of the restaurant were notified of the sale and are expected to vacate the restaurant by February 1st. Owners of the restaurant, Ed and Lily Pottinger, were shocked about the sale of the building. “We knew there was a chance,” Lily said “but thought there may be a three month notice.”
Staff members claim they had a multi-year lease with building owners before it was recently reduced to a year-by-year agreement.
In an effort to keep their business alive, the owners of The Real Jerk, launched an online campaign asking Torontonians to sign a petition showing their support for the restaurant. The website, savetherealjerk.com, garnered over 2000 signatures on the petition.
The owners of the Real Jerk are planning a “celebration,” regardless of the result of the injunction, saying on Twitter, “We are celebrating if we receive good or bad news-customers are amazing-staff of #therealjerk are great individuals that have stood by us.”
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