La Société (restaurant)
La Société is a restaurant located on the Mink Mile on Bloor Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is a French Bistro operated by INK Entertainment and owned by Danny Soberano and Charles Khabouth.[1] The opening night was June 15, 2011, and had celebrity guest attendees, including Stephen Wong of Greta Constantine and Kevin Brauch.[2][3]
| La Société | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Restaurant information | |
| Established | June 15, 2011 |
| Owner(s) | INK Entertainment |
| Chef | Toronto location: James Olberg (2011–2013) Romain Avril (2014–2016) Ben Heaton (2016–present) Montreal location: Jean-Philippe Miron (2015–present) |
| Food type | French |
| Street address | 131 Bloor Street West |
| City | Toronto, Ontario |
| Country | Canada |
| Coordinates | 43.6687°N 79.3925°W |
| Other locations | Montreal |
| Website | lasociete |
Design
The 1920s Parisian bistro theme of La Société's interior design was done by Munge Leung.[3] It features hand painted windows, burgundy velvet walls, marble floors, a full raw bar and a multi-level, outdoor patio.[4][5] The restaurant in total can seat more than 300.[6]
Montreal
By late 2012, Khabouth announced plans of opening La Société in Montreal.[7]
The decision to expand La Société outside of Toronto came about somewhat unexpectedly as a consequence of INK Entertainment's larger business strategy of providing unified hospitality services of dining, dancing, and hotel accommodation offered via a stylish boutique hotel brand, which Khabouth had been pushing for years.[8] Realizing INK is still not able to execute such an ambitious plan by itself, Khabouth looked for a partnership, approaching Loews Hotels, whose key individuals Jonathan Tisch and Costa Dimas wanted him to gain more experience outside Toronto and in hotels before going into business with him on larger projects.[8] Thus, they offered to let him open another outlet of his Toronto French restaurant, La Société, in the Loews Hôtel Vogue in Montreal.[8] Khabouth accepted and La Société in Montreal's Loews Hôtel Vogue thus became the first project of INK's newly agreed collaboration with Loews Hotels, a partnership expected to yield many more venues.[9]
References
- "Pricey Bloor St. a bargain for U.S. retailers". Toronto Star. 2011-06-07. Retrieved 2012-07-28.
- "Restaurant Review: La Société | Posted Toronto". National Post. Retrieved 2012-07-28.
- Lau, Gizelle (2011-06-21). "Introducing: La Société, Bloor Street's massive new bistro and people-watching hub | Opening". Toronto Life. Retrieved 2012-07-28.
- "La Societe Opens on Bloor Street". Viewthevibe.com. 2011-06-16. Retrieved 2012-07-28.
- "New Toronto patios for 2012: La Société". Blogto.com. 2012-06-15. Retrieved 2012-07-28.
- Lau, Gizelle (2011-06-21). "Introducing: La Société, Bloor Street's massive new bistro and people-watching hub | Opening". Toronto Life. Retrieved 2012-07-28.
- Govani, Shinan (14 December 2012). "Shinan: Charles Khabouth extending club empire to Montreal". National Post. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
- Daly, John (29 October 2015). "Can club king Charles Khabouth conquer the hotel business?". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 27 November 2015.
- Casey, Quentin (18 February 2013). "INK Entertainment looks to expand reach through Loews Hotels partnership". Financial Post. Retrieved 1 December 2015.