Buster Rhino's BBQ Toronto moving into Phil's Original space on College

By David Ort

Image: Buster Rhino's/Facebook

After four years of off-and-on searching for a location, Durham Region’s most popular barbeque spot, Buster Rhino’s, is getting a Toronto location. Michelle Edgar and Jason Poynton (the owners of The Sweet Escape Patisserie in the Distillery District) have joined forces with Manon Hurtubise and Irene Tzaras, the former owners of Grindhouse Coffee to operate the Toronto outpost.

Reached by email, Edgar said the food will feature “the core Buster Rhino’s menu and interesting specials specific to our location.”

Given that the name is an anagram for “southern ribs” we hope that item will make it onto the menu. Also, Edgar’s experience as a pastry chef and baker bodes well for the dessert menu.

The partners have secured an apropos location at 838 College St. That was the home of Phil’s Original BBQ for two decades until it closed about a year ago. Given that Zane Caplansky’s BaJu BBQ is about a 10-minute walk away, this is set to become a pleasantly smoky neighborhood.

Edgar and partners hope to be open by spring 2015 and are being tight-lipped about further details while they concentrate on renovating the space. They will debut their operation at Yumcha 2015, the dim sum pop-up event that is scheduled for February 21.