Authorization to Release Section 37 Funds from a Development at 1 and 3 Sultan Street to Fund the Creation and Installation of a Heritage Plaque at 406 Bloor Street East, Commemorating the Underground Railroad Soul Food Restaurant - by Councillor Mike Layton, seconded by Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam

The business was a joint venture between football players John Henry Jackson and Dave Mann (both American players for the Toronto Argonauts) and Torontonians Howard Matthews (whose wife was Broadway star and jazz and blues singer Salome Bey), and celebrated jazz drummer Archie Alleyne. The menu was a mix of soul food and Cajun, Creole, and West Indian dishes, such as fish gumbo, cornbread, southern fried chicken, hushpuppies, candied yams, and collard greens. The Underground Railroad was a major success and was popular with Torontonians, tourists, and celebrities alike: Harry Belafonte, Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, Mick Jagger, Bob Dylan, Isaac Hayes, B.B. King, Stevie Wonder, Robert Plant, Peter O'Toole, Lee Majors, O.J. Simpson, Magic Johnson, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Bishop Desmond Tutu all ate there, and many had their photos framed on the wall. The restaurant moved from its Bloor Street location to 225 King Street East in April 1973 and remained popular. At Christmas, the owners would serve turkey dinners to those in need and supported Black youth, as well as Caribana during its early years. The Underground Railroad was forced to close in August 1988 and briefly re-opened on Church Street before shutting down permanently in August 1990. The enacting By-law 1089-2002 for the development at 1 and 3 Sultan Street, 11 St Thomas Street, and 76-98 Charles Street West allocates Section 37 funding for the Toronto Heritage Grant Program. As Heritage Toronto is a directly funded City agency and not considered an "outside party", no undertaking is required to be signed by Heritage Toronto governing the use of the funds and financial reporting. As the second location of the Restaurant, at 225 King Street East, is in Councillor Wong-Tam's Ward, a similar Motion recognizing that location is included in a separate Motion on the agenda.