Venues INK Entertainment

1 venues

1.1 nightclubs

1.1.1 rebel nightclub (formally known sound academy)
1.1.2 cube
1.1.3 dragonfly nightclub
1.1.4 uniun


1.2 restaurants

1.2.1 spice route
1.2.2 la société
1.2.3 weslodge saloon
1.2.4 patria
1.2.5 buonanotte toronto
1.2.6 byblos
1.2.7 america restaurant
1.2.8 calvin bar
1.2.9 nao
1.2.10 byblos miami
1.2.11 figo


1.3 other

1.3.1 storys building
1.3.2 cabana pool bar


1.4 bisha hotel & residences

venues
nightclubs
rebel nightclub (formally known sound academy)

as of october 1, 2016, sound academy changed name rebel , reopened, renovated. ink entertainment collaborated studio munge design 45 000 square foot nightclub, 65 square foot stage. nightclub hosting multiple global artists such dj snake, dvbbs, tory lanez, , passenger (singer), among many other.

cube

cube nightclub s rooftop patio in july 2012.

cube, known ultra supper club 2003 until 2012, nightclub located in downtown toronto on queen west near spadina can hold 650 people between indoor lounge , rooftop patio. catering affluent 25-plus young professionals, cube s black , gold interior inspired 1960s , 1970s design , features nostalgic retro detailing reflect cubist art , fashion of time such 65-foot-long bar , handblown brass railings , sculptures.

ultra supper club opened in december 2003 following investment of on c$3 million ink entertainment owner charles khabouth year-long renovation of space housed iconic bamboo tropical-themed nightclub (co-owned richard o brien , patti habib) july 1983 until closing bash on 31 october 2002. before bamboo, during 1970s, building housed laundromat , later wicker world shop. khabouth reportedly got alerted building lease same real estate agent 10 years earlier helped him turn rpm , warehouse guvernment , kool haus. start khabouth envisioned ultra upscale restaurant , club attracts toronto s moneyed crowd (real estate barons, bay street moguls , leveraged-buyout specialists), successful stilife club @ corner of richmond , duncan street did in late 1980s , 1990s. in pursuit of creating exclusive spot, spared little expense, including putting in fortress-like exterior doors india cost c$15,000 , c$15,000 install them because entire building had reinforced. run khabouth s partnership brenda lowes , inspired supper clubs in new york city , montreal, ultra among first toronto venues push concept in addition being adopter of bottle service model.

the new club instant hit rooftop patio crowded every summer. sleeker , more upscale bamboo s ramshackle vibe, ultra put more emphasis on food regular nightclub. instead of live acts, bookings focused on djs tables , chairs removed around 11pm make room dancing. ultra s glamorous reputation further benefited media coverage of steady stream of international celebrities dropping such david beckham in august 2007, paris hilton then-boyfriend benji madden in september 2008, lindsay lohan got paid show accompanying then-girlfriend dj samantha ronson in 2009 on day of engagement, beyoncé, etc.

in february 2009, ultra supper club underwent bit of makeover, dropping supper club name , adopting new asian fusion fare , cheaper menu offerings — of seen initiated in response diminishing number of corporate events @ venue due global recession.

by 2012, despite club/restaurant being profitable, khabouth had decided ultra ran course, investing $1.8 million venue makeover , re-opening cube on 28 february 2012. restaurant aspect dropped, cube functions nightclub — hosting glamorous, celebrity-packed tiff parties , booking more high-profile big room house djs gigs such dubfire, hardwell, , victor calderone. in august 2013, following year s ovo fest club hosted impromptu after-party festival performers including drake, lil wayne, p. diddy, kanye west, big sean, french montana, mase, , tlc. cube continues practice of promoting parties around presence of prominent pro athletes such chris weidman hosted event @ cube in september 2013, 1 day ahead of ufc 165 in toronto s air canada centre.

dragonfly nightclub

dragonfly nightclub built niagara fallsview casino resort in niagara falls, ontario capacity of 800. spread on 12,000 square foot space, features asian themed decor invoking ancient forbidden city.

uniun

uniun opened on adelaide street west in november 2012, in same space housed devil s martini nightclub, popular destination bachelorette parties khabouth bought several months earlier in july 2012, initiating complete makeover.

the club in news in late august 2013 after justin bieber stopped bodyguards , got involved in melee after got hustled out security detail waiting suv.

restaurants
spice route

spice route asian themed bistro-bar located on king street west, toronto, ontario opened during spring 2008. run collaboration between ink s khabouth , liberty s nick di donato (owner of c lounge , many other venues), 2 veteran moguls of toronto entertainment scene after directly competing 1 city s upscale clientele throughout 2000s via respective properties ultra supper club , c lounge joined forces in venture targeting ritzy young professionals. spice route can hold 500 guests on multiple rooms , outdoor patio.

la société

la société 1920s-inspired parisian-style eatery located on bloor street west, toronto, ontario opened in june 2011. restaurant includes 2 european-style terraces, , outdoor patio. located in space occupied long-running dynasty chinese cuisine dim sum restaurant, c$4 million renovation included installation of 20 30 foot stained-glass ceiling (courtesy of toronto s solarium design group) took 5 months before la société opened. included putting in mosaic tile floor, cost c$400,000 , entailed flying in 27 workers. la société draws inspiration various brasseries , bistros, including keith mcnally s balthazar restaurant in new york city s soho hôtel costes in paris on place vendôme in city s 1st arrondissement, la fontaine de mars in 7th arrondissement, , brasserie bofinger in 4th arrondissement.

due location, opulence, , flair, la société invoked comparisons famous toronto restaurant bemelmans, glamorous eatery owned , operated tom kristenbrun ran 1977 until 1994 street @ 83 bloor street west. la société opening party on wednesday, 15 june 2011 brought out toronto glitterati city s business , media scenes, including moses znaimer, roots canada founder michael budman, architect , designer dee dee taylor eustace of taylor hannah architect inc., kirk pickersgill , stephen wong of greta constantine, blake mcgrath, polly shannon, kevin brauch, jake gold, jian ghomeshi, seamus o regan, melissa grelo, , gossip columnists shinan govani, bernadette morra, , suzanne boyd. within months of opening, la société hosted various 2011 toronto international film festival parties, including closing 1 on 17 september 2011 featured nkpr inc s natasha koifman, bill nighy, robert lantos, suzanne rogers, glenn baxter, yannick bisson, george stroumboulopoulos, jian ghomeshi, ben mulroney & jessica brownstein, colin & justin, drew & jonathan scott, designer kirk pickersgill, suzanne boyd, , shinan govani.

weslodge saloon

classified modern american-style gastropub saloon twist, weslodge opened in mid-july 2012 on king street west in toronto s fashion district partnership between ink entertainment s charles khabouth , icon legacy hospitality s hanif harji. during weslodge preparation stage, khabouth, set open himself, got introduced harji opening patria next door , 2 restaurateurs decided go business on both venues. restaurant located on ground floor of victory condos building @ 478 king street west completed in 2011 , co-owned toronto real estate developers lifetime developments (run mel pearl , sam herzog) , blvd developments.

designed toronto-based munge leung interior design firm, khabouth s , harji s plan weslodge attracting downtown toronto urban crowd doesn t spend time in condos, rather likes go out right after coming home work. interior featuring imitations of taxidermy hunting trophies mounted on walls, in keeping wild west , hunting themes, restaurant s bartenders , servers wear gun holsters around shoulders. weslodge s kitchen run executive chef stuart cameron while first chef du cuisine kanida chey joined claudio aprile s origin.

the restaurant in news in june 2015 due 24-year-old former pastry chef kate burnham had been employed @ venue july 2012 until january 2014, alleging have been sexually harassed while working @ weslodge 3 former bosses — day sous chef dan lidbury, chef du cuisine kanida chey, , night sous chef colin mercer. filed application human rights tribunal of ontario, seeking c$225,000 in damages formal apologies each of alleged harassers. after first appearing in toronto star on saturday, 13 june 2015, story got lot of attention, including established toronto restaurateur jen agg, owner of black hoof, in addition supporting burnham announced conference named kitchen bitches: smashing patriarchy 1 plate @ time . media attention prompted ink entertainment releasing official statement, posted on company s facebook page. story received more national coverage in canada via current radio programme hosted anna maria tremonti on cbc radio one, sparking debate on poor workplace treatment of women in restaurant kitchens. jen agg s kitchen bitches conference later held in toronto in september 2015. furthermore, same month, burnham s legal case against weslodge got resolved through mediation agreed confidential settlement.

weslodge , patria located in adjacent groundfloor units of victory condos building on king street west.

also in september 2015, announced weslodge saloon brand expanding gulf countries in 2016 part of deal between daman investments psc, dubai-based financial services company, , consortium of partners including harji s icon legacy hospitality.

patria

patria khabouth-harji king west restaurant collaboration, 1 serving spanish food. opened in october 2012. originally, harji behind patria, after meeting khabouth getting ready open weslodge next door, 2 decided join forces , run both venues in partnership 1 another. reportedly, invested c$2.5 million getting patria off ground, enlisting toronto-based commute home design company restaurant s interior , getting chefs stuart cameron , claudia gibson run kitchen.

even before officially opening, restaurant hosted 2012 tiff events such 7 psychopaths premiere party in september 2012 woody harrelson, abbie cornish, sam rockwell, christopher walken, , colin farrell on hand. other khabouth s restaurants in toronto, patria continually attracts international movie stars , hollywood celebrities via tiff parties every september thereby ensuring press coverage , publicity restaurant.

buonanotte toronto

the toronto location of popular montreal restaurant buonanotte opened in january 2013 courtesy of khabouth s ink entertainment licensed name , recipes original restaurant s owner massimo max lecas remains in charge of new venue s management. opened @ 19 mercer street, same location khabouth ran japanese cuisine restaurant named ame in partnership michael , guy rubino. original buonanotte restaurant in montreal has been in continual operation since 1991.

byblos

byblos restaurant serving eastern mediterranean , moroccan food, located on duncan street near king street west inside storys building in toronto s entertainment district. opened in march 2014, third restaurant khabouth established in toronto in partnership hanif harji.

originally envisioned fish , seafood eatery, opening took place during time when toronto experienced bit of spike in restaurants serving mediterranean , middle eastern (middleterranean) fare, trend khabouth , harji took note of , decided join. upscale among string of such spots in toronto opened or expanded during 2013-2014 period (anthony rose s fat pasha, dr. laffa, me va me, district oven, s. lefkowitz, etc.), byblos focuses on dishes greece, turkey, israel, , lebanon morocco. byblos executive chef stuart cameron oversees other khabouth-harji eateries such weslodge , patria while chef de cuisine jennifer nickle came on patria sous chef.

byblos received near universal critical acclaim, getting enthusiastic reviews , accolades food blend , becoming perhaps best-reviewed khabouth restaurant ever.

as byblos got established on toronto s restaurant scene , following successful launch of second location in miami beach, announced in september 2015 byblos brand expanding gulf countries in 2016 part of deal between daman investments psc, dubai-based financial services company, , consortium of partners including harji s icon legacy hospitality.

america restaurant

first opening doors in september 2014 year s tiff, high-end america restaurant @ 31st floor of toronto s trump international hotel , tower didn t officially launch until october 2014. replaced glitzy stock approximately 9 months since management had been taken on oliver & bonacini restaurants (o&b) in partnership khabouth. @ time of ownership change, stock, opened during spring 2012 simultaneous toronto trump tower s launch, had been in operation 2 , half years.

after limited collaboration on snacks @ cabana pool bar, america restaurant marked closer partnership between ink , o&b began in december 2013 announcement of 2 companies taking on food operations @ trump international hotel & tower alex shnaider s talon international developed tower , later managed 2 dining , drinking venues — stock restaurant , suits lobby lounge.

the new owners hired toronto firm ii iv design, same company designed stock, remodel space. redesign included doing away stock s black leather furniture, khabouth described manly , , replacing lot of velvet, lot of velures, burgundies, blues , golds in order make little more feminine friendly . hundreds of pieces of furniture custom built off-site @ shop in woodbridge, outside toronto, on course of 4 months. actual remodeling work took place in late august , september 2014 on 5 days new owners rushed ready in time toronto international film festival. while stock s physical bar remained relatively unchanged, lounge area revamped new lighting, furniture , dj booth.

the spot relaunched america restaurant, venue s eatery during daytime, on thursdays, fridays, , saturdays functions supper club, turning nightclub dancing , djs past 11pm. when came name, o&b , ink wanted strong , unapologetic while khabouth, donald trump himself, epitome of american , source of inspiration. bill osborne, formerly of bar boulud in london , canoe in toronto, got hired run america s kitchen, working under o&b executive chef anthony walsh.

in september 2014, before open general public, america hosted imitation game party attended benedict cumberbatch , keira knightley movie played @ 2014 toronto international film festival.

in late november 2014 america subject of extremely negative review globe , mail restaurant critic chris nuttall-smith elaborate takedown went viral, garnering big reader reaction attention various other media outlets. in zero-star assessment of america, nutall-smith referred tacky, new-money restaurant , eviscerating bouncers, wait staff, bathroom attendant, hostesses, , patrons; though praising food. scathing review reportedly led restaurant s entire front of house staff getting fired.

america received four-star rating 2015 forbes travel guide, placed in same category established toronto dining spots café boulud toronto, canoe, 1 restaurant, scaramouche, splendido, , toca.

the restaurant in news in late march 2015 after toronto resident (darshan dorka) claimed got turned away @ america along party of friends due wearing turbans.

the calvin bar

at same time launch of america, 2 partner entities opened calvin bar in hotel s lobby facing southeast corner of bay & adelaide.

nao

standing new , old, nao asian steakhouse on avenue road established khabouth , harji opened in november 2014.

byblos miami

after getting announced in january 2015, byblos miami, offshoot of toronto s byblos, opened in miami beach during late summer 2015. partnership between khabouth , harji, miami restaurant reportedly came on heels of extensive research duo of toronto restaurateurs aimed @ minimizing surprises , risks of launching in miami market don t know well.

figo

opened in november 2015, figo seventh khabouth-harji restaurant collaboration, sixth in toronto. located on south-west corner of adelaide west & john in built pinnacle on adelaide condo building s owned pinnacle international, eatery serves italian cuisine. partners hired anna chen (formerly of lee , scaramouche) run figo s kitchen executive chef.

other
storys building

in october 2011 khabouth , harji announced purchase of four-story storys building @ corner of duncan & pearl in heart of entertainment district, around corner royal alexandra theater , tiff lightbox.

cabana pool bar

after 2012 takeover of sound academy, khabouth opened cabana pool bar on 15 june 2013 on patio. spending c$5 million, hired ink s go-to interior designers munge leung remake outdoor space installing 12 poolside white-tent cabanas , several dozen tables , couches in effort of appealing 25-plus crowd has traveled south of france, been miami, been vegas .

with daytime concept s extension of bottle-service booths in khabouth s nightclubs — cost of renting table, couch, or cabana entire day c$1,000 c$2,500, amount patrons 3 bottles of liquor start, platter of snacks, , wristbands affording access 10-20 people — cabana pool bar became big success right away, attracting more 4,000 people day on summer weekends if weather nice. open during summer mid june until late september, cabana shuts down 11pm on weekends due residents of neighbouring toronto island complaining noise patio. venue closed general public during summer weekdays though available corporate bookings , functions. light food offerings , snacks @ venue handled oliver & bonacini restaurants, toronto-based hospitality company.

celebrity presence, staple of khabouth s nightclubs , restaurants, played large part in cabana pool bar s initial promotion — justin bieber, drake, milos raonic, deadmau5, p. k. subban, phil kessel, , nazem kadri on hand during first summer in operation. on coming summers, smith, in town filming suicide squad, dan bilzerian, lebron james, etc. made highly publicized appearances.

bisha hotel & residences

bisha hotel & residences @ 80 blue jays way in toronto s entertainment district hotel , condominium project, under construction, executed joint venture between ink entertainment hospitality company , lifetime developments real estate development company. new private label hotel , residence brand named after ink founder, charles khabouth’s childhood nickname, bisha. designed award-winning wallman architects , munge leung design associates , stand 41 stories tall when complete. bisha presentation centre has hosted many events including features sir richard branson , john legend.