What Happened to Brownstone Bistro After Restaurant Takeover?

Brownstone Bistro, a restaurant on Yonge Street near Gloucester Street in downtown Toronto, was the tenth episode of Restaurant Takeover (Food Network Canada), airing on 2012-11-01. TVmaze's synopsis describes a restaurant in need of major changes, run by father-and-son owners who did not agree on what those changes should be. The show sent chef Derek Minkensky and designer Paula Velez to step in.

In a September 2012 blogTO piece, co-owner Mark Yacoub said the owners had planned renovations but could not settle on a design, so they let the show take over the project. According to blogTO, the makeover took place in February 2012, and Yacoub described a sharp rise in sales at first. He told the writer that the attention fades over time, so the restaurant would have to keep up its customer service and relaxed atmosphere.

blogTO's listing for the bistro says it reopened after the show with a comfort-focused menu and that the recipes supplied through the show were folded into rotating specials rather than made permanent menu items. The listing mentions pub classics such as a deconstructed bruschetta, a goat cheese salad over portobello, a vegetarian pizza, burgers, sandwiches and weekend brunch, and it carries a notice that the restaurant is now closed.

blogTO reported in an August 2019 story headlined as a landmark Yonge Street restaurant that had closed after more than 25 years that the restaurant wound down over about two months and that the building was being renovated. The article said the 2012 appearance on Restaurant Takeover led to an early revival under the Yacoub family. According to blogTO, a former general manager and some staff opened Ristorante Marzitelli at 555 Church Street. A Google Maps listing for Brownstone Bistro at 603 Yonge Street was marked permanently closed when checked on 2026-10-19. The article does not say what will occupy the Yonge Street space.