FEELS LIKE HOME AT DINE ALONE

To describe myself as an ‘elder emo’ would be an understatement.

I was 15-years-old in the year 2000; when the post-hardcore ‘emo’ scene was in its infancy. I didn’t have snakebite piercings or wear eyeliner, but I was so into the music of that time that I could recite lyrics, list off discographies and their release dates and name the members of any band — past or present.

So needless to say, when I first walked into the Dine Alone Store located at 864 Eastern Avenue in Toronto, my eyes lit up like Charlie Bucket’s the first time he walked into Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory (I guess you could say I had Bright Eyes.)

For those who don’t know the story, Dine Alone Records started as a way to give City and Colour (the solo project of Alexisonfire’s Dallas Green) a separate home from AOF, who — at the time — were signed elsewhere.

As Dine Alone President and Owner Joel Carriere tells it, “We wanted to build up City and Colour as its own brand and not a side-project.”

That goal of turning artists into their own individual brands, and the work behind it, is evident within the Dine Alone Store. Packed with exclusive items boasting the branding of

City and Colour as well as other artists such as The Dirty Nil and Bedouin Soundclash, the Dine Alone Store has a plethora of creatively curated pieces that you will not find anywhere else.

Justin Ellsworth, Director of Graphic Design and Production, says the Dine Alone team “prides itself on creating creative, limited, fan-geared exclusives.”

These aren’t just limited-edition graphic tees we’re talking about. The Store has so many original, exclusive items that they succeeded in mustering up all of my nostalgic feels. Custom pins, patches and even a cassette tape of Alexisonfire and Moneen’s classic Switcheroo album were at my fingertips. It was like being at a concert merch table in my youth — but with more flair and style!

“Whether it’s limited-edition cassettes, hand-cut vinyl lathes or traditional vinyl… we look at a few factors including physical sales history for an artist and see if their fan base supports physical media over digital,” says Ellsworth when asked how the team decides on what exclusive items to create and for which artist. “From there we come up with a creative piece that would drive people to the space as their only place to ever get that exclusive.”

I was curious how much input the artists themselves had when it came to creating these pieces, and that curiosity was put to rest by Dine Alone Graphic Designer Bree Rawn as they explained that everything is “a very collaborative process.”

As it turns out, the bands themselves aren’t left in The Middle when it comes to the creative process.

“We work closely with artists to execute their vision for creative assets — in particular album art (and packaging), merch and social media assets. Building a close creative relationship with an artist has become a crucial step in maintaining a cohesive and effective design.”

The quality in everything permeated off the walls as it was easy to see how much thought, care and creativity went into not only the space itself, but each individual piece of merchandise offered. Once a design is ready for print, the Dine Alone Store solely commits to choosing Canadian/local print production companies, always looking for the quality in the details.

“That is what sets us apart,” says Rawn.

But don’t let the Dine Alone Store exclusives fool you; this record store is not exclusive to Dine Alone artists only. Beyond the items you can find revolving around the artists signed to the label, the Dine Alone Store also offers up albums of all sorts. Including chart-toppers such as The Weeknd, Florence + the Machine and Shawn Mendes. Browsing through their vinyl selection, I was also able to find classic favourites from Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, the Rolling Stones and more.

Having wanted to open his own record store since his days working for Sam the Record Man in St. Catharines, Joel Carriere wanted to bring his past experiences of connecting with people through their personal stories about music to Dine Alone Records.

Once he amalgamated his offices in Nashville, Germany, Los Angeles and Australia into one central location in Toronto in 2015, Carriere set forth on achieving his goal.

864 Eastern Avenue houses the Dine Alone Records office, a full commercial kitchen, rooftop patio, live-recording facility and, of course, la piece de resistance: the Dine Alone Store — complete with its own event and performance space.

“In 2022, we hosted the CBC Juno Fest, which was incredible to bring artists and the music community together after being away for so long due to the pandemic. This past April we hosted our Big Rip with Indie88 featuring the Interrupters ahead of their sold out show at History,” says Marketing and Events Manager Stacey Kerslake.

Big Rip is a marketing property created by Dine Alone that will continue into the future, with several events already planned for the Store’s event space in the coming months.

“We really try to bring events into the space that give fans a unique experience that they cannot get anywhere else.”

The intimate setting, cleverly located behind an old, repurposed vintage freezer door (which I admit I forgot to close), has a full stage and beautiful lighting that left me in awe. It took me back to 2002, when I would watch Dashboard Confessional’s MTV Unplugged DVD over and over again (Dine Alone released Dashboard’s Crooked Shadows’album — what fate!)

Flexibility is the name of the game at the Store. Artists have been able to use the inspiring space for everything: from hosting the Pixies for a live radio show to being the locale of choice where Alexisonfire wrote their most recent album, Otherness.

Thus far, the Toronto community — both general and within the music and arts community — have been loving it.

“Music fans, industry colleagues and artists alike have appreciated the attention to detail — our love of creating a welcoming environment and the uniqueness of the space,” says Carriere.

“Once, Ian Astbury of The Cult spent a day here just because he loved the atmosphere,” says Carriere. “It’s just a rad spot, rooted in music and good vibes.”

Within the Store’s first year, although only open for special events to start, it was named the Independent Record Store of the Year at the Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Awards.

What does the future have in store for the Dine Alone, well, Store?

“We are always trying to connect the Toronto community and music and we do this through hosting a variety of events and contests out of our store,” says Kerslake. “We are in the midst of planning a community initiative for August, where customers can come in and shop our store but also explore locally made products from local vendors. And, as always, we will participate in Record Store Day Black Friday this November.”

The team behind the Dine Alone Store seem like they are just getting started when it comes to creative initiatives and, with time, more opportunities arise — not just for the brand but for the artists and the community.

“We are always looking to collaborate with other artists and brands to create cool and unique experiences. You never know what events could pop-up at our space!” Kerslake says.

With my hands full of gear — hats, tees and vinyl — I drove home with that feeling from my youth; ironically a feeling that never gets old, like I had just left a concert that I knew I would never forget.

Trust me when I say that after one visit to the Dine Alone Store, you will want to Tell All Your Friends.

“We’re proud of what we have been able to build here,” says Carriere.

To get the latest updates on all Store activities, you can follow them @dinealonestore on Instagram or visit their website at dinealonestore.com and sign up for their mailing list.

You can find the Dine Alone Store at 864 Eastern Avenue in the east-end of Toronto. They are open Monday to Friday from 10 a.m.–6 p.m. Music lovers can shop in-store and online, with in-store pick-up available. Be sure to check out some of the latest record releases from Dine Alone Records artists City and Colour, Dirty Nil, Black Lungs, AVIV and Bedouin Soundclash.

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