place

The Goof

Restaurants in Toronto
The Goof
The Goof

The Goof, officially the Garden Gate Restaurant, is a well known eatery in the Beaches neighbourhood of Toronto. Founded in 1952, it serves Canadian Chinese cuisine as well as diner fare such as breakfast and hamburgers. Its nickname comes from the restaurant's neon sign. The word "good" is vertical on the sign and "food" horizontal, so when at some point in its history the "d" in "good" burnt out, it read "Goo F". It is today near universally referred to as The Goof by media and locals, while the official name remains Garden Gate. After remaining almost unchanged for more than 50 years, the Goof was thoroughly renovated in 2006. The 1950s decor, including the jukeboxes, was removed and a modernist interior, done by local designer Bennett Lo, was put in place. The menu remained unchanged, as did the well known sign outside. Another well known fixture was waiter Hazel Hoeg, who announced her retirement in 2020, having worked at the restaurant since it opened in 1952, a span of 68 years. The restaurant is today owned by Keith Chau, who purchased it in the early 1990s. In 2017 they updated their webspace to include a unique online ordering application. The restaurant has also been a filming location for two movies: Frequency with Dennis Quaid and Angel Eyes with Jennifer Lopez. The song "Pinch Me" by Toronto/Scarborough band Barenaked Ladies makes reference to The Goof with these lines "there's a restaurant down the street/where hungry people like to eat."

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article The Goof (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

The Goof
Queen Street East, Toronto

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: The GoofContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 43.672493 ° E -79.287273 °
placeShow on map

Address

Queen Street East 2381
M4E 1G1 Toronto
Ontario, Canada
mapOpen on Google Maps

The Goof
The Goof
Share experience

Nearby Places

Church of St. Aidan (Toronto)
Church of St. Aidan (Toronto)

The Church of St. Aidan is an Anglican church in The Beaches neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The church has about 400 members, and approximately 150 people attend on any Sunday. The current priest-in-charge is the Rev. Canon Lucy Reid. [1] The church's history begins with Pastor H. Dixon who set up a tent around 1880 to serve the residents of the small village in the area. When the streetcar stretched eastward and the area began to grow rapidly in the 1890s, the church remained housed in a tent, but one large enough to hold 500 people. A permanent church was finally established in 1907, and work on the church building was completed in 1908. [2][3] St. Aidan's has many pieces of liturgical art by the distinguished Canadian artist and late parishioner Doris McCarthy. [4] In 2006, the church became the centre of a controversy when the congregation under Rev. Stephen Kirkegaard decided to participate in the Out of the Cold program to provide shelter to the homeless during the winter. The program takes place in various religious institutions across the city, and helps provide extra space during the winter months when remaining outside can be deadly. St. Aidan's proposed providing beds for twelve people once a week. This sparked strenuous opposition from neighbours in the expensive Beaches area. Concerns about the homeless bringing crime and reducing property values in the neighbourhood prompted some local residents to try to get a court order to halt the program. Eventually, after a meeting was held to allay concerns, and critical publicity began to decry the objections, the program went ahead. In 2017, they plan to serve fifty for dinner, and host twenty-five homeless men and women for the night and breakfast.[5]

Dr. William D. Young Memorial
Dr. William D. Young Memorial

The Dr. William D. Young Memorial is a drinking fountain and memorial that was erected on the eastern border of Kew Gardens in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in August 1920 by residents of the Beaches neighbourhood.The memorial was dedicated to Dr. William D. Young (1874-1918), a local physician who, in the era before universal health care, had devoted himself to the health and welfare of children of the neighbourhood. Young died after being stricken with influenza while tending to the sick during the Spanish flu pandemic of 1918. He died almost penniless after his pro bono work with local children.The Italian Renaissance-style memorial was designed by M.D. Klein, and originally contained a statue of a child by Florence Wyle, later replaced by one by Frances Gage. Ivor Lewis designed the medallions of Dr. Young. The words "Service Was His Aim" are inscribed at the top of the memorial. The City of Toronto designated the memorial under the Ontario Heritage Act in 1977. The designation by-law states: The William D. Young Memorial Drinking Fountain, Kew Gardens, 1920 (Architect and Designer Morris D, Klein) is designated on architectural and historic grounds. The elegantly designed fountain in the Italian Renaissance style displays the finest of craftmanship in stone and bronze. Erected in 1920 through public subscription, the Memorial Drinking Fountain symbolizes the philanthropic service of a distinguished doctor in the Beaches district at the turn of the Century.

Beaches International Jazz Festival
Beaches International Jazz Festival

The Beaches International Jazz Festival is a month-long music festival held each year in the lakeside Beaches community of Toronto in July. Originally started in 1989, it is now one of Canada's largest free jazz festivals with nearly 1,000,000 attendees, throughout its month-long span. The Festival takes place across a number of venues; stage concerts are held in several different parks within the area and also along a two kilometre stretch of the Beach mainstreet during StreetFest - Queen Street East. Every year, the Festival brings in internationally acclaimed jazz performers while also showcasing local talent, including "new generation" jazz musicians. The Festival now hires around 1000 artists per annum, including 50 bands for its "StreetFest" event along Queen Street East. The Festival offers concerts at various locations: the Woodbine Park Main Stage, Jimmie Simpson Park Main Stage, Big Band Stage, SING! A capella Stage . The Festival holds a Workshop and Lecture Series which varies each year and is programmed to appeal to both professional musicians and to the general jazz loving public. BIJF garners much community support because of the community events that it supports. These include: a "Jazz-Up Your Windows" Beach BIA - BIJF jointly sponsored contest for local retailers; and multiple fundraising opportunities for local charities such as the "Beaches Jazz Tune-Up Run" on behalf of the Beach Rotary Club, Community Centre 55 and the Michael Garron Hospital. The Festival attracts around one million attendees per Festival season. The BIJF benefits the local economy, injecting over $30 million into the GTA. Although the festival is funded by the province's Ministry of Tourism and Culture, funding is also sourced from community donations. In November 2013, the Government of Canada donated $200,000 as part of the Department of Canadian Heritage funding program.