Original Pickle Barrel location closes its doors

Leslie Street restaurant opened in 1971 as 85-seat Jewish deli

- KARON LIU

The Pickle Barrel, now stripped of its signage, anchored Wycliffe Plaza for more than 50 years.

The shopping centre at 5941 Leslie St. in North York is officially named Wycliffe Plaza, but neighbourhood residents, even the landlord, call it the Pickle Barrel Plaza, after the popular chain restaurant, whose original location has anchored it for five decades.

But with the recent closure of its most famous tenant, perhaps the plaza will soon revert to its proper name. The illuminated red letters reading “Pickle Barrel” along the top of the building have been taken down, and the lights inside are off.