From eager university students drunk on the freedom of living on their own for the first time to nervous high schoolers seeking spontaneity on the weekend, it’s been pretty much a rite of passage for young Torontonians to head to Queen West’s Adrenaline for a piercing. Unfortunately, the tradition is coming to an end — the tattoo and piercing place has announced its upcoming closure.
The iconic black and yellow storefront sign has graced the busiest portion of Queen Street for two decades, and has been one of the most popular and frequented shops for both tattoos and piercings in the city. And yet the hot spot has now announced that its final day open will be Sept. 15.
“It is with deep regret that we announce the permanent closure of Adrenaline Toronto after decades of proudly serving our community,” they wrote on Instagram.
They encouraged any clients who are working on tattoo projects with artists to contact the team to ensure any unfinished or ongoing work is completed in time.
Adrenaline was established in 1998 by a small group of friends and family in New Jersey. Studios under the brand opened in Montreal, Vancouver and Toronto over the years. However, it appears the Vancouver and Montreal studios will still remain operational.
It’s possible, then, that the Toronto studio of Adrenaline had a location problem. Nestled along a once-bustling part of the city, this strip of Queen West has seen many changes over the past few decades. Once home to amazing independent storefronts and dotted with exciting live music venues, the strip has been overtaken, mostly, by corporate everything — banks, Lululemon and Aritzia, a massive Shoppers.
And now, Adrenaline Ink is the latest in a line of casualties, following in the footsteps of local stores like Reigning Champ (who suggested that Queen West just “isn’t a shopping district” anymore) and some of those corporate chains that some argue contributed to the demise of the neighbourhood when they first arrived, like H&M, Zara and Adidas.
In a video posted to Instagram on Thursday, Adrenaline Toronto founding partner Joey Nixon gave a bit more context to the sudden closure.
“This is due to a variety of reasons, including construction from Metrolinx and the financial situation in the city,” he said. He also noted that we’ll be hearing more from the team about the closure over the next month.
He also asked that people support the tattoo artists operating out of Adrenaline who will have to find new workplaces moving forward — and shared that anyone who gets a tattoo or piercing at the tattoo shop in the next month will receive an Adrenaline T-shirt.
You can stop by the shop at 239 Queen St. W. every day until Sept. 15 to buy body jewelry or merch, or get a last minute piercing or tattoo.
