Well, it closed nearly 2 years ago due to COVID, but I always hoped for a resurrection. Sadly, not to be. I was only there once, for a Bernard Fowler show - he finally showed up around midnight as I was leaving, but it was nice to see all the Stones memorabilia. Link, in case you want to see the cool pics. [www.thestar.com]

Dream home: Step inside the dramatic upstairs home at the rock ’n’ roll Parkdale bar, Stones Place

The iconic spot drew celebs from music and movies. Joni Mitchell offered ‘Jerry’s Bordello’ as the name for the owner’s loft suite

By Carola VyhnakSpecial to the Star
Tue., Feb. 15, 2022


The formal dining room was the site of dinner parties and after-hours “night caps” with celebrity guests, according to owner Jerry Stone.

Dream home: Step inside the dramatic upstairs home at the rock ’n’ roll Parkdale bar, Stones Place
The iconic spot drew celebs from music and movies. Joni Mitchell offered ‘Jerry’s Bordello’ as the name for the owner’s loft suite

By Carola VyhnakSpecial to the Star
Tue., Feb. 15, 2022timer2 min. read


When the pandemic struck, a Parkdale bar owner found himself between a rock and a hard place. Make that hard rock and a Stones Place.

That’s the name Jerry Stone gave the Queen St. W. live music venue he opened in 2000 and filled with his collection of Rolling Stones memorabilia — including photos, posters and album covers — dating back to 1965.

COVID killed the business in summer, 2020 so now Stone is selling the $6.2-million building that includes a second-floor loft apartment where he lived. He spent years hobnobbing with celebrities in the cavernous bar and upstairs where they’d gather for “nightcaps” after-hours.

“It was a wonderful time in there. It was a lot of fun,” recalls Stone, who’s since moved to the country.

Dressed to the nines in velvet drapes, tassels and ornate vintage furniture, his home was a star in itself. At one point, Joni Mitchell suggested calling it “Jerry’s Bordello,” says Stone with a laugh.

With a background in the clothing business, Stone says he’d always wanted to own a bar. When his hairdresser suggested the “pretty rough” building in a seedy neighbourhood, Stone’s first reaction was, “What, are you crazy?”

“I took a chance and never looked back,” explains Stone, who takes credit for helping kick-start Parkdale’s gentrification by creating an important landmark on the Queen West music scene.

He gutted the place and “started from scratch,” turning two existing apartments upstairs into one living space of about 2,500 square feet, which he filled with furniture, accessories and other props from movie sets and menswear store owner Lou Myles.

According to Stone, the carved, four-poster bed was once the site of “some hot sex scenes” with Kevin Bacon during the filming of a movie.

The oversized spa-like bathroom boasts a “big giant shower you could fit a motorcycle in,” as well as a custom wardrobe, vanity and tilework, he says.

Other high-end touches include a Waterford crystal chandelier, Persian rugs and a sculpted dining table handcrafted in Italy.

But, curiously, the surround on the gas fireplace is plywood. “I was looking for a marble, face which I never found.”

The kitchen, also adorned with fringed drapes, has a walkout to the rooftop terrace where summertime guests gathered.

Downstairs, a who’s who of the movie and music industries hung out — including Canadian actor Rachel McAdams, who showed up weekly “to shoot pool and relax,” says Stone. He also counts Drew Barrymore, Bob Dylan, Tom Petty, Rod Stewart and Neil Young among the patrons at his self-described “open-concept rock ’n’ roll utopia.”

Asked if the Rolling Stones ever rolled in, he replies: “Everybody but.”

The diehard rock fan finally met the band in 1997 when they were in town rehearsing, then became friends with them — partying at secret venues and representing Ronnie Wood’s artwork.

The apartment, with its spacious interior and high ceilings, “affords a sense of grandeur,” says Kimmé Myles, co-listing agent with Shirley Yoon.

The space could be expanded over the building’s footprint, the loft area opened up to create another floor and a special retreat made of the rooftop terrace, suggests the broker with Sotheby’s International Realty Canada.

The numbers

Price: $6,195,000

Size: about 2,500 square feet

Bedrooms: 1

Bathrooms: 1

Had a couple good nights in there a few years ago.

I liked the club, good music, lots of partiers.

I was disappointed that there wasn't more Stones music in the rotation. One of the nights I was there they played lots of funk, Bowie and even some Steely Dan but only a couple Stones numbers.