Stationed by the corner of Ossington and Dundas is The Lakeview, a 24-hour diner that opened its doors back in 1932.
For years, I have walked through the big metal doors and under the glowing sign at all hours of the day and night and I’m not the only one, in fact, the likes of Mark Wahlberg, Daniel Craig, Samuel L. Jackson, Michael Cera, Jenny Garth, Tom Cruise and Michelle Williams have been under its roof (just to name a few).
The menu of classic dishes and the warm hospitality have enough to bring luminaries like John Travolta, and that’s why The Lakeview has earned a reputation in Toronto as a prime spot for filming major movies and TV shows.
If you’ve been captivated by a good old-fashioned diner scene, chances are you may have been looking directly into this beloved Toronto gem.
“I’ve helped curate the Lakeview for 16 years, we got it in January 2007,” Fadi Hakim, the co-owner of The Lakeview shares with me alongside his wife Fran, fellow co-owner of the restaurant.
Not only is Fadi a restaurant connoisseur, but he’s also a major film buff and detailed the projects that have come through the doors, and the shoutout at the Academy Awards that had customers lining up.
“The basement was full of boxes of menus, articles, clippings, newspapers and photos. It took us a month to sift through all of it, and our designers at the time scanned everything and this became the background of any image that we’ve since used on menus, ads, and social media,” Fadi tells me.
While film productions were held before the Hakims took over The Lakeview in 2007, things really ramped up when they got there.
“Some of the older pictures that were left here were of Vincent Price and Telly Savalles. I’m not sure what Vincent Price did here, but Telly Savalles might have been in an episode of Kojak, likely in the early ’70s,” Fadi explains.
“I can’t count the number of movies, TV shows, music videos and commercials that have been shot here in the last 16 years, though. At one point, before 2020, we had at least a production a month.”
And if you think running a restaurant is hard, try adding in coordinating film shoots.
“One thing to realize is that it’s not just about the day of shooting. The amount of pre-production that happens is immense. First, you get the location scout surveying, who then brings the production managers, then the director, set design, props etc- at least five or six large meetings before any given shoot. So The Lakeview is always buzzing with the film industry even during regular hours,” Fadi details.
Some days, the diner is filled with hungry customers and catchy tunes, and others, with filmmakers, cast and crew.
“On the day of the shoot, the front of the restaurant is full of trucks or prop cars, huge lights, and the windows blacked out. Inside, the entire space would be full of camera equipment, wires leading to everywhere, crew, talent and even the back of the restaurant would house generators and craft service trucks. Most productions have us make food as film props, so the kitchen is always busy as well,” he adds.
But for the pair, the madness is all part of the fun.
“There’s chaos in the air, a hustle and bustle of five different departments doing their jobs over top of one another until someone yells ‘Quiet on set.’ At that point, an uncanny silence floods the diner, inside and out. Everyone freezes and respects the moments of silence until someone yells ‘Cut,’ and the chaos resumes,” explains Fadi.
He not only had a list of films and movies to tell me about, but also the fun facts to back them up.
“Hands down, the biggest production filmed here was with The Shape of Water in 2017. One of the producers shouted out Toronto after accepting an Academy Award. We were overrun with media attention and tourists afterwards. We got so many requests for key lime pie, the dessert the diner in the movie featured, that we finally broke down and put it on our menu,” he laughs.
“It’s remained on the menu to this day,” Fran adds.
Hairspray the movie also used the diner as a backdrop and as we walked by the bar, Fadi pointed out the area where John Travolta sat as Edna Turnblad.
“I snapped a picture with Andrew McCarthy and my baby daughter during the filming of Condor in 2018 and sent it to my wife. Andrew was my wife’s ‘one celebrity pass’ so to speak. I reckon I spoiled that for her,” Fadi laughs.
During the filming of The Samaritan in 2012, one of The Lakeview’s security cameras almost had an accidental part in the film.
“One of our security cameras captured an entire scene with Samuel L. Jackson and Luke Kirby. We were watching in the office and marvelling at how perfectly framed it was. The director said that he would have used it somehow if it wasn’t at such low resolution,” shares Fadi.
Alan Ritchson breaking a booth as Reacher, and a paparazzi fight over Robert Pattison during the filming of Cosmopolis are a couple of other stand-out moments Fadi recalled, but his favourite filming project? “Star Trek – Strange New Worlds,” he says.
“Someone snuck a picture of Kirk’s chair on set, and it wasn’t me, scout’s honour. They actually used The Lakeview name in the scene which is the ultimate homage, as many productions already have a name or concept of the location in their scripts. We had the cast holding at The Jean Darlene Piano Room, our sister bar down the street, so it was this Trekkie’s dream come true.”
Fadi also let me in on a little secret – if you look around, pieces of the productions are everywhere in the restaurant.
“The orange vinyl on the bar stool covers are from The Shape of Water, and the smaller hanging lights above the booths are all from Netflix’s Jupiter’s Legacy in 2021,” he points out.
“Some of our milkshake glasses are from The Umbrella Academy in 2020, and our brunch sides go out on plates from The original Lakeview sign that was on its last legs and finally chipped away beyond repair during Jeremy Renner’s scene in The Mayor of Kingstown in 2021.”
The diner isn’t just reserved for big Hollywood names, as Fadi and Fran continue to open their door to filmmakers of every kind.
“We’ve been in countless student films and indie music videos- so I want to shout out all of the immensely talented indie filmmakers, who if we like their project, we offer part of the restaurant to. As these productions are offered the Lakeview gratis, they usually begin shooting on any given weekday at 3 or 4 a.m. and always put a smile on my face. It’s amazing to see The Lakeview buzzing with this sort of creativity at all hours.”
As I looked around at the polished bar, the old-school jukebox and the cozy booths, I couldn’t help but wonder what the next big production would be for The Lakeview. When I asked if he could share what’s to come for 2025, he left me with a cliffhanger, much like some of the movies and shows that were filmed in the very spot where we stood.
“I wish I could!” he chimes.
