Adam M. Anklewicz In conversation with Andre Rosenbaum, co-owner of renowned venue and restaurant The Rivoli and The Queen Mother Café in Toronto: Courtesy of Being There Magazine

How did The Rivoli start?

The Rivoli got started because we lived and worked in the Queen West area. [Our other restaurant,] The Queen Mother Café, down the street had been opened in 1978. David [Stearn] and I lived in apartments above that restaurant, and many of our staff and friends were artists who lived in the area. The whole street catered to the artist class, it was cheap and funky. The building which houses The Rivoli was the Trotskyite Communist Centre of Toronto. It skipped to being a high end and short lived restaurant and dinner club called Soho at the Metz. When [David and I] got wind that Soho had failed, we decided to go for it. We had a vision of a neighborhood restaurant and club. We thought it would be an excellent venue for our friends and neighbors. We knew the restaurant business and felt that if The Rivoli dining room was successful, we could tolerate a very liberal and open booking policy for the club. Sometimes it is the tail that wags the dog, and it is the club that has often given the enterprise its profile.


What would be your proudest moment operating The Rivoli?

There are a few proud moments. The first one is when, in our first year of operation, 1982, the English group Durutti Column was booked into the space by the "Garys" (the top promoters of the 80s). We had our first line up down the street. [The second is] every time a local Queen Street artist performed who shortly thereafter went on to some success, such as Molly Johnson, The Cowboy Junkies, Mary Margaret O'Hara, Blue Rodeo, The Kids in the Hall and many more.


What makes The Rivoli stand out from other venues in Toronto?

The Rivoli is a great intimate room. It is a perfect showcase room. It has excellent site lines and sound system. It makes me think of the jazz "boites" of Paris in the '30s and '40s. Financially, we rely on the other segments of the operation (the dining room, side bar, patio and pool hall). Because of this we can take greater risks and have an extremely broad booking policy. It is definitely the place to get started in Toronto and the place to connect in a very direct way with your audience.

Did you know?

The logo for the Rivoli sign is Mary Margaret O'Hara's artwork.

Blue Rodeo's first gig was at the Riv? The now famous ad was: "If you`ve dropped acid at least 20 times, lost 3 or 4 years to booze and looking good and can still manage to keep time, call Jim or Greg." Keelor brought Bobby Wiseman (keyboards), drummer Cleave brought along his friend Bazil Donovan to the next rehearsal, and the band was complete. They debuted in Feburary of 1985 at the Rivoli in Toronto.

Do you have some bonafide Rivoli Trivia? please send it in