Rick Montgomery, owner of North Toronto’s beloved Miller Tavern, likens searching for a second location to “looking for a needle in a haystack.”
After months and months of scouting, Montgomery found the perfect historical building to house his new tavern: a now-derelict Liberty Village prison chapel built in the 1870s.
After soliciting the assistance of an historical architect, the City of Toronto approved Montgomery’s plans.
“The real challenge was to find a way to blend the old with the new,” says Montgomery, who found a way to preserve the exterior shell of the building, while bringing the interior — especially the kitchen — up to code.
Major renovations are now underway, and the Miller Tavern’s downtown location is slated to open in late 2011 or early 2012.