Lao Lao Bar owners learn to pivot after city forces previous restaurant to close

The owners of Lao Lao bar have been on the Toronto food scene for decades and their newest incantation has become quite the hotspot in the Church and Wellesley neighbourhood.

“I would say its like a high energy environment, so you come in and it’s just buzzing … the instant you walk in, you realize you’re in for an experience,” said Jason Jiang, one of the owners.

Jason Jiang and Seng Luong opened up the restaurant Lao Lao Bar opened in February of 2023.

They owned and operated the wildly popular Sabai Sabai on Bloor Street East. But the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to close for the first time.

“We actually closed like completely at the beginning of the pandemic. We didn’t do takeout, we didn’t do anything. As we were coming out of the pandemic, our volume was going back to pre-pandemic levels when we realized we had to shut down to the expropriation.”

Jiang and Luong got the shock of a lifetime when they were told the City of Toronto would be kicking them out to make way for the expansion of Bloor-Yonge station and it all happened in the blink of an eye.

“So we got the notice in May 2022 and we had 90 days to close it, so by the end of July, our doors were shut,” explained Jiang.

But this bump in the road didn’t deter the pair. Almost immediately, they began trying to figure out what was next.

“This is something that we have thought about for a while and I think the timing was just that we had to close Sabai, so this was the perfect opportunity to really kind of focus on opening something that we’re really passionate about, something that’s really true to our ethnic background, food that we grew up with. And to us, it’s comfort food, so we just feel it was the time to share it with Toronto,” he added.

Jiang and Luong started the hunt for a new spot for their new concept and the opportunity came right to them from a regular at Sabai Sabai.

“On the last day, the date we were supposed to go to lock the door at Sabai for the last time, we got an email from a real estate agent that we weren’t even working with and he knew that this opportunity for this location was just about to come up,” said Jiang. “And he just put two together and thought that this would be a really good fit, this location with what we were doing there. So when he reached out to us, we’re like yes, that’s exactly what we were looking for.”

They got the keys on October 1, 2022 and started construction right away. “We opened on Valentine’s day… February 14,” said Luong. “So basically four-and-a-half months of building the restaurant,” added Jiang.

Similar to Sabai Sabi, Lao Lao now hosts regulars, new customers, and even celebrities. The pair has proven that passion, and community can help local restaurants thrive, even in the hardest times.

Watch the original documentary, Veracity: The Melting Pot, Sunday June 16 at 10 p.m. ET for more on the restaurants that shape Toronto.