Toronto City Councillor Presents a Motion to Protect Sneaky Dee’s From Future Redevelopment
A few weeks after it was saved from closing, University-Rosedale councillor Dianne Saxe’s proposal would grant heritage status to the long-running Tex Mex bar and concert venue.
Now that Sneaky Dee’s has been saved, one Toronto city councillor wants to honour the beloved concert venue and restaurant.
Earlier this month, it was reported that the College Street space could remain open, shutting down a condo developer’s plans to demolish the venue in favour of a 16-storey building. Local community members and artists spoke out against the redevelopment plan, before Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) intervened and claimed ownership of part of the property, causing the condo developer to withdraw their application.
Now, University-Rosedale councillor Dianne Saxe has filed a motion, seconded by St. Paul's councillor Josh Matlow, to declare Sneaky Dee’s as a heritage site, protecting it from redevelopment plans in the future.
“Sneaky Dee’s is a historically and culturally significant music venue at 431 College Street. For generations, it has been a launching pad for local artists, a gathering place for friends and neighbours, and an important piece of Toronto’s cultural identity,” Saxe wrote, addressing Toronto’s city council. “It is one of those places that gives our city its character.”
She explained that the redevelopment threats “mobilized” many Torontonians to rally around the venue.
“Residents organized. Musicians spoke out. Neighbours filled meetings, signed petitions, shared ideas, and refused to accept that one of Toronto’s most beloved cultural institutions should disappear into yet another condo without exhausting every possible option."
The longtime venue is a pillar of Toronto’s live music scene. Performing there has benefited the careers of many Canadian artists from Broken Social Scene and PUP to Barenaked Ladies and Feist, along with many others.
“For everyone who has ever discovered a new band at Sneaky Dee’s, fallen in love, celebrated with friends over a plate of nachos, or simply believes Toronto should protect the places that make our city unique, this reprieve is worth celebrating,” Saxe continued.
She believes that the earlier uproar over the potential closure of Sneaky Dee's allows the city a “fresh opportunity to evaluate Sneaky Dee’s potential for a heritage designation,” explaining that "dedicated volunteers have already begun to assemble supporting evidence."
Saxe requested that the city council direct the motion to Mary MacDonald, senior manager of heritage planning, to evaluate whether Sneaky Dee’s meets the criteria in Part IV of the Ontario Heritage Act — which “allows local municipal councils to pass bylaws to individually designate real property of cultural heritage value or interest” — and report back on the findings in the first quarter of 2027.
Save Sneaky Dee’s, which mobilized to save the venue, has not yet revealed concrete plans. Martin Perez, who co-manages media communications for the group, shared in a post on Instagram that “more updates on our long-term plans to further protect the venue” are “to come.”
Saxe’s motion will be discussed during the next Toronto city council meeting on July 29.
