Just months after a fire destroyed the Ward’s Island Association Clubhouse and the much-loved Island Café, the heart of the island community is beating once again. The café has reopened in a temporary form, welcoming residents and visitors back since the August long weekend.
The fire in mid-March left the island community in shock, wiping out a historic gathering place that had served generations. In the days following the blaze, Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow visited the site, offering support and exploring ways the city could help the café return while the clubhouse is rebuilt.
That support led to a temporary solution. Café owners Zohra Freeman-McIntyre and Maura McIntyre secured a short-term lease from the City of Toronto, allowing them to set up directly in front of the original café location.
“This is very much a stop-gap,” said Freeman-McIntyre. “The goal was to bring something back to the community while we wait for the building to be reconstructed.”
The result is a pair of thoughtfully designed kiosks. One focuses on coffee, baked goods, salads, and wraps, while the other offers ice cream, sundaes, and popsicles. A shared deck between the kiosks provides seating, and railings salvaged from the fire have been repainted and reused, preserving a tangible connection to the past.
The design draws inspiration from historic photos of 1950s kiosks at Hanlan’s Point, with a familiar blue colour matching the former clubhouse. One of the most emotional touches is the return of the café’s iconic stone lions, which survived the fire and now stand proudly at the entrance once again.
“Seeing kids climb onto the lions with their ice cream just like they did before really makes it feel like the café has been reborn, even if it’s different,” Freeman-McIntyre said.
Beyond food and nostalgia, the café’s community impact continues through its vegetable garden, established in 2016 and miraculously untouched by the fire. The garden donates all of its produce to the Parkdale Food Bank and Fort York Food Bank.
“The garden gave us hope during a really hard time,” said Maura McIntyre. “Keeping that food security work going felt essential.”
This year’s growing season has been especially productive, thanks to a combination of heat and rain. Since May, the café has already donated more than 3,000 bundles of kale, with thousands more expected before the season ends.
Regulars say the café’s return has been deeply meaningful. Former employee and longtime customer Ivy Farquhar-McDonnell praised the family’s resilience, calling the temporary café “beautiful, welcoming, and very much in the spirit of the original.”
For longtime patron Paul Di Proespero, the reopening brought unexpected emotion. “When I heard about the fire, I cried,” he said. “Seeing this place alive again it brings me real joy.”
The temporary Island Café is expected to remain open until the end of October, offering a familiar gathering space while plans move forward to rebuild the clubhouse and restore a cherished island landmark for the future.
