Pay With Canadian Tire Money At This Canadian-Themed Bar
A new bar in downtown Toronto is flipping the script on how to pay for drinks. Grizzly Bar, which opened its doors on April 11 on Queen Street West, now accepts Canadian Tire money as legal tender. That’s right — those red and green paper bills collecting dust in your kitchen drawer can finally be put to good use.
A Bar That Feels Like Home (If Home Smells Like Maple Syrup)
Taking over the space formerly known as Offworld Bar, Grizzly Bar makes a strong impression from the start. A nine-foot inflatable bear greets you at the door. Inside, 1,000 square feet of projection screens play clips from classic Canadian TV shows and landscapes. It’s a full-on sensory trip into Canadiana.
Grizzly Bar comes from the minds of Jason Kapalka and his wife, Jessica Langer, who also leads the bar’s marketing. Together, they shaped the space to be more celebration than museum. “One of the things that Canadians are pretty good at doing is poking fun at themselves,” Kapalka says. That laid-back tone runs through the entire concept — from the inflatable bear at the front door to the use of Canadian Tire money as payment.
How the Canadian Tire Money Deal Works
You can’t just drop a nickel’s worth and call it a day. Here’s how the bar handles CT money:
- You must use it to pay for at least one full item on your bill
- The item must include tax
- No splitting items with CT money allowed
- The value is accepted at par with the Canadian dollar
Customers who pay with CT money even get exclusive swag, thanks to an official partnership with Canadian Tire.
Maple-Wrapped Menu and Locally Rooted Drinks
The food is just as on-theme as the décor. The menu reads like a cross-country culinary tour:
- Ontario chicken wings tossed in maple-whisky sauce
- Quebec bison burgers
- East Coast-style fish and chips named after Great Big Sea
- A build-your-own poutine bar
As for drinks, the focus stays Canadian. Expect local brews from Toronto and GTA-based breweries and cheeky cocktails with names like the TVO Kids. There’s even a full lineup of themed events, games, and performances for customers to enjoy.
A Dose of Satire
Grizzly Bar isn’t about flag-waving — it’s about laughter. The owners lean into a shared cultural inside joke, building a space that celebrates Canada’s quirks, clichés, and the strange things we all grew up with. “Canada’s biggest export is humour,” says Langer. That spirit echoes in every corner of the bar.
Whether you’re pulling out a dusty envelope of CT cash or just want to enjoy a comedy night, Grizzly Bar is already standing out as a true Toronto original. It’s a place where you can eat, drink, and laugh at how Canadian you really are — without needing to take it too seriously.
Here are some other new bars in Toronto to explore.
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