Update: Due to unfortunate circumstances, the Brawley is no longer a going concern. Bars and restaurants can be subject to a lot of upheavals, and so it was in this case.
It was however, taken over by a fine lady, who has renamed the place Legends on the Queensway and will be carrying on the business as a Bar and Restaurant. We understand that Phil Policelli is still involved.
Ivan and Paul Bubanovich are no longer involved.
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On Thursday June 6/13, The Brawley Restaurant and Lounge, located at 1184 The Queensway in Etobicoke, opened it's doors to the public.
1184 The Queensway has been the site of a series of restaurant-bars since the mid 1970s. The property is owned by the Bubanovich family. The Bubanovich’s were in the hospitality business for a number of years running a succession of different restaurants in Etobicoke, downtown Toronto and Markham.
The existing Queensway building started out as the Mayfair Inn, which the Bubanovich family ran for about 5 years. They retained the property but sold the business, which became a succession of bars: Jake's Boathouse, then Peter's Diner, followed by OV’s which remained there for 15 years. Unfortunately, the OV’s owners allowed the place to become more and more run down and the place gained a bad reputation. Business was not good and OV's owners decided to sell.
Enter Phil Policelli, successful bar owner, formerly of Heads or Tails on Browns Line, and at that time co-owner of P.K. Creek in Mississauga.
Phil wanted another location and felt that this one was excellent, situated as it is on the Queensway between Kipling and Islington Avenues and with burgeoning commercial activity taking place, including a Cineplex Odeon theatre complex just east of it.
Seeing the potential, Phil joined forces with two others to buy the business, and they proceeded to gut the building - renovating from head to toe. It became Hollywood on the Queensway, a very successful sports bar/restaurant/banquet hall and live music venue. Running both establishments kept Phil on his toes. When long-time partner Kevin Saliba decided to sell his share of P.K. Creek, Phil decided to sell P.K. Creek and devote himself full time to Hollywood on the Queensway.
The place was doing well and building a reputation for good food and excellent live entertainment. Unfortunately after less than 2 years the partner relationship soured and once again the business was sold.
Several subsequent changes in ownership hurt the club, in large part due to the fact that none of its new owners were experienced in the bar industry. Business began to tail off and the building interior fell into disrepair. Well behind with the rent, the last business owner was asked to leave.
Faced with an empty building in poor repair, the Bubanovich family decided that they would do something about it themselves. They knew Phil from his early involvement with Hollywood on The Queensway, and they liked how he did business, and how he ran things. Even then they had their eyes on Phil as someone they would really like to partner with to run a successful sports bar.
So in the early spring, Ivan Bubanovich and nephew Paul approached Phil, and invited him to partner with them. He would be the "frontman", they would be there if needed, but otherwise would not be involved in the day to day running of the business. And thus was born The Brawley Restaurant and Lounge, which opened its doors June 5, 2013.
Ivan Bubanovich explained that the building was a mess when they took it over early in May. He said they had to completely refinish the beautiful wood floors, reclad the patio with cedar (this became Paul Bubanovich's special project), paint, clean and repair damaged walls and fixtures, and worked pretty much night and day in order to get it ready for a June opening. "We did it in less than one month!" he declared, beaming.
Paul Bubanovich is a wiry dynamo of a man.
He darts about checking things, helping out where needed, constantly on the move. I was able to get him to stop for a few minutes to talk about his own involvement with the Brawley. He had been managing a successful car dealership downtown for a number of years. He then took some time off to be with his family and now that this opportunity has come along, he's excited. He said that getting the building ready for the opening has been a huge task but he's glad it's pretty much done. He peers out at the deck and smiles and says "I still have some work to do on the cedar, I like things done right -- I'm picky". Paul joked that he's been in the restaurant business since he was 5, when he would sleep on a table while waiting for his parents to go home after a long day at the Fairbank. I can tell that Paul will never really sit idle for any period of time.
After years of being in the restaurant and bar business, Ivan Bubanovich decided to get into real estate and that is where he has remained for the past 20 years. He loves dealing with customers, talking to people, assessing their needs, and making sure that they get the property best suited to their requirements. He explained that he is an old fashioned guy, not too fond of computers, uses email when he needs to, but prefers to deal with people face to face or on the telephone. This brings us to the present, when the Bubanovich family decided to take back the old Hollywood location and recruit Phil to run it.
Ivan will continue to be in real estate, but will now be a partner in the Brawley along with nephew, Paul, coming forward when needed but otherwise leaving the running of the place up to Phil Policelli.
Phil Policelli is a straight shooter.
He's well loved by all his staff, past and present. His customers all love him and follow him from location to location. He is respected by his suppliers and business associates and he really knows his way around the bar business. As well he might - since he's been in it for most of his adult years. It is clear talking to staff and customers at the Brawley that everyone is thrilled that Phil is back in the bar business. Opening night was a testament to how much people love to hang out at anyplace Phil is involved.
Phil started out working for his father and brother at a small restaurant in Etobicoke. One of his present staff, Darlene, has worked for Phil since 1988 at a series of different places, starting with the Daily Double. Phil's parents ran the kitchen and Kevin Saliba was a bartender. Then he had a place called the Crown and Anchor, in Brampton for a while. That was followed by Heads or Tails in the late 1980's, which he had with Kevin and where they remained for 10 years. They then sold Heads or Tails and bought P.K Creek, which opened in 2000. Then came Hollywood in 2003 which Phil was forced to sell. After Phil sold Hollywood, he bought a place in Mississauga which he called The Sky Cocktail Bar and Lounge in 2008. Although the Sky was a beautiful location, with a lot of potential, it suffered from a lack of visibility and little foot traffic and Phil eventually sold it and left the bar business for several years.
And this brings us to 2013 - 1184 The Queensway continues it's tradition of being the site of a restaurant, lounge, and entertainment venue. Phil Policelli continues the tradition of being the popular and well loved mover and shaker who motivates his staff and brings in the customers, both old and new, and the Bubanovitch family continues the tradition of being connected to the hospitality business.
