Toronto’s historic Imperial Pub will serve its last beverage on November 15.

The pub will shut down after being in business for 81 years as it makes way for a new redevelopment project involving Toronto Metropolitan University and developer Bazic. The city has approved plans for a 23-storey mixed-use development that will include 336 affordable student-housing units at the site near Yonge and Dundas Streets. The Newman family has owned and operated the pub throughout its existence.

“I’m 80 years old and, all my life, I was here. All of my children’s lives, they were here,” Fred Newman, Imperial’s owner and president, told Global News. 

“They were here as little children and they’re here as adults running it. So that part, well, it’s sad.”

Newman sold the property to TMU and Bazic.

The pub has undergone a number of changes since Newman’s father bought the property and opened the pub in 1944 during the Second World War, according to multiple reports. But Global reported that the location still features many of its original fixtures and decor.

According to the Toronto Guardian, the pub served as a live-music venue and book-launch space in years gone by.

Photo: Imperial Pub