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There is a yellow City of Toronto fire hydrant inside the patio of the legendary Cafe Diplomatico in the heart of Little Italy.
What there isn’t are people. They have been banished.
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Try refreshing your browser, or WARMINGTON: Politicians fiddle with failed shutdowns while Ontario burns Back to video
No matter how much the sun shines or how warm it gets this spring, the cafe at College and Clinton Sts. sits dormant as hundreds walk by.
“We really miss our customers,” said owner Rocco Mastrangelo.
It turns out there may be significance to that hydrant which was installed even before the 53-year-old restaurant was serving classic pasta dishes and pizzas.
Toronto restaurant sends an invoice to Doug Ford for spoiled beer kegs after patio flip flop
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The hope and excitement that food and drink establishments in Ontario had for recovering after months of forced closures was completely quashed with the announcement of the provincewide shutdown that went into effect over the weekend, and the industry is not at all hiding its anger at Premier Doug Ford and his team.
Many restaurant owners, servers and bartenders, and residents alike have hopped onto social media to express their outrage about the situation, with one business in Toronto going as far as to send Ford an invoice for some of the product they scrambled to purchase after patios were suddenly permitted to open in the city earlier this month.
CBC News4 days ago
6:43
4 days ago
6:43
Rocco Mastrangelo, owner of Toronto restaurant Cafe Diplomatico, tells CBC News he no longer knows how to successfully run his business after the Ontario government banned indoor and outdoor dining as part of its four-week provincewide lockdown.
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