Caplansky’s Reopens After Winning Toronto Court Case

Better Deli Days: Zane Caplansky behind the bar of his eponymous Toronto deli. Image by renee ghert-zand

After an Ontario Supreme Court ruling in the restaurant’s favor, Caplansky’s re-opened for business on June 11.

Caplansky’s, which helped kick-start Toronto’s artisan-deli revival, was evicted from its Kensington Market-area space June 7, the Toronto Star reported.

Founder Zane Caplansky told the Star last week that he has no idea why landlord Walter Kung changed the locks and terminated his lease.

“I’m a landlord’s dream,” he said. “I pay my rent on time every month. I improve the building, I improve the neighborhood. It’s a safer, cleaner place because I’m there.”

The landlord, before hanging up on a Star reporter who reached him, called Caplansky “a crazy person.”

“The deli on College St is closed: ‘Failing to effect repairs not authorized by the landlord’? What does that even mean? We are fighting this outrageous action,” Caplansky Tweeted.

Caplansky’s recently launched an ambitious expansion aimed at franchising its popular brand of deli across Canada.

Michael Kaminer is a contributing editor at the Forward.