Popular Toronto entertainment venue abruptly closes over unpaid rent

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An entertainment hotspot in the heart of downtown Toronto has been shut down.

The Ballroom Bowl at Yonge and Dundas appears to have closed for good, with the location having a Notice of Termination on its front door, a post on Reddit’s Toronto page shows.

A photo of the letter shared online states the closure is over “non-payment of rent” and that “the premises have been re-entered, the locks changed, and possession taken” by the original landlord.

The notice, dated Oct. 17, says they have five business days to “remove your goods and chattels,” otherwise the items will either be placed in storage or “disposed of in any manner” the landlord sees fit at their expense.

The letter from a bailiff company added that “the lease has been terminated effective immediately.” A quick Google search notes the business, which opened in February 2025, is “permanently closed.”

Toronto residents commented on the forum page, with one Redditor writing, “The Ballroom Bowl is horribly managed and this is 100% on them.”

Another added: “No one was ever there, I go past it often, and I’ve maybe once seen someone bowling in there.”

Ka-ching

Others called the space cramped, the food mediocre to bad, and expensive overall, however, some defended the price, finding it reasonable with other party venues in the city.

“It sucks but a lot of these places can’t be too cheap or else the business won’t work,” one person noted. “The equipment alone would make anyone piss their pants with how expensive it is.”

Some also questioned whether Ballroom Bowl’s other two locations — on John St., in the Entertainment District, and Yorkville — affected its ability to pay the rent.

“I had no idea there was another location, let alone two other locations,” one commenter wrote. “I only knew the John Street one, and only ever went there once.”

Another Redditor, who claimed to have “inside information,” said rent was “something like $60k a month,” prompting many to question how any business could survive at the location.

Ballroom Bowl offers food, drinks and boutique bowling lanes in a nightlife setting, though the Yonge and Dundas location’s duckpin lanes, no 10-pin option, was another sticking point for some Redditors.

“The OG [John St.] location has regular 10 pin bowling which is much more popular,” one user wrote.

The Ballroom Bowl but did not comment in time for publication.

Its two other locations, 145 John St. and 1 Bloor St. E., remain open.

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