Join the Club

In the heart of Toronto, Burdifilek's design for Club Monaco Café is a movable feast.

Abby Bussel -- Interior Design, 11/1/2001 12:00:00 AM

Feeling parched? Light-headed after a rigorous credit-card workout at Club Monaco's flagship in Toronto? No problem. Just have a seat at the Club Monaco Café, designed by Burdifilek, a local firm that has worked with the chain on both its apparel stores and lifestyle stores (called Caban).

The sidewalk establishment "extends the brand into the streets," says Diego Burdi, the firm's design director, who worked on the project with managing partner Paul Filek, technician Tracy Morgulis, and senior designer Tom Yip. "We took traditional outdoor elements but gave them a Club Monaco aesthetic."

Located in the superfashionable Bloor Street West district, the Club Monaco flagship occupies a 1920s limestone building, and the 3,210-sq.-ft., 110-seat café wraps around two sides. A "cabana" at the street corner holds a bar and server station. Teak-and-canvas umbrellas, boxwood in zinc planters, and the slatted sides of freestanding, gazebo-like dining areas suggest a "roof" and "walls." Most important, everything can be disassembled and stored during the frigid Canadian winter, when outdoor eating is not a popular lifestyle choice.