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The owner of a historic adult entertainment business in downtown Toronto said he’s devastated after a fire broke out at the commercial building Sunday morning.
Crews responded around 6 a.m. Sunday to reports of smoke coming out of the Zanzibar Tavern, an adult entertainment nightclub, near Yonge Street and Elm Street, Toronto Fire told CBC News.
At the scene, fire crews confirmed heavy black smoke and a roof-level blaze at the building that eventually escalated to a 3-alarm fire.
There were no occupants in the building and no injuries have been reported, they said. Fire crews added firefighters inside the building were evacuated and suppression efforts continue from the outside.
The roof and some areas inside the building have been compromised, Toronto Fire said.
Allen Cooper, a second generation owner of the Zanzibar, said he’s hoping to reopen the adult establishment bigger and better after repairs. (Daniel Dadoun/CBC)
Allen Cooper, the owner of Zanzibar, said he has always feared that something like this might harm the business.
There’s “a fair bit of damage,” he said, adding that he hopes to reopen the business “bigger and better” than before. Cooper is a second generation owner of the club, which he said his parents started in 1960.
“It doesn’t feel great,” he said. “All my employees are devastated and I’m devastated. We probably have about 30 regular employees, but we get about 100, 200 dancers per week.”
Cooper said firefighters told him there’s no structural damage to the building, but that it might be too early to be certain.
No one was inside when the fire broke out, he said, adding that he’s glad nobody got hurt.
Speaking with reporters at the scene Sunday afternoon, Toronto Fire Chief Jim Jessop said the damage is substantive and the investigation into the cause of the fire is ongoing, but there is nothing to suggest it was suspicious.
It was difficult to keep the fire from spreading, he said, as the buildings on the block are situated close to each other.
“It is incredible that the other buildings are still standing right now,” he said. “That is because [of] the incredible work of the Toronto Fire Service.”
Some of the roof partially collapsed and the fire was deep-seated, according to Jessop.
There were no injuries, he confirmed.
Rafi Whedy, who owns a business next door to Zanzibar, said when he came to open his store today he found his glass door broken and firefighters outside.
Whedy said he hasn’t heard from firefighters but he expects his business to reopen as usual after the door is repaired.
Yonge Street is closed between Gerrard and Elm streets, as is the eastbound lane on Gerrard Street between Yonge and Church streets, Toronto police posted on X.
The Toronto Metropolitan University’s student learning centre was not impacted by the fire and resumed regular operation as of 11 a.m. Sunday, the university told CBC News.