12:00
18:00
19:00
21:00
For lunch, a vegetarian soup and watermelon or mangos. I like to stick to things that are light.
I hardly ever miss dinner and I eat fairly early.
I start checking on my restaurants.
I start checking on my bars.
Sitting in my favourite restaurant for half an hour to an hour, I relax. Three or four times a week I eat with my kids and the rest of the time with a friend or a business associate.
Feedback is very important and you cannot get that unless you’re there. This business is tough, and if you’re not welcoming, if you’re not hospitable, if you’re not truly happy to see people enjoying your space, enjoying your food, your music—your colours come through very quickly.
Other than my meetings, I don’t have a typical day. One day I’m doing an event for a thousand people: a black-tie dinner and a fundraiser. One day I’m doing a rock show. One day I’m building. It’s never the same. Toronto is fairly cosmopolitan and although it’s not New York or Los Angeles, it’s definitely a place I’m happy to live and grow my business. I don’t think I would ever leave this city.
Whenever a new restaurant opens I like to try it. One of my favourites in Toronto is La Société and I’m not saying that because I own it—it’s been very well received by most people in the city and the fish is always incredible. Once in a blue moon I’ll have a burger and it’s probably one of the top three burgers in the city.
I don’t drink and I’ve never been involved in any illegal substances. Everyone knows I’m one of the straightest-laced guys in the city. That’s the way I grew up—who I am. And in this business, you could easily get yourself into a lot of trouble. However, I used to love dancing. I danced jazz and modern and my teacher, George Randolph, a close friend of mine, owns the Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts here in Toronto. I danced ten to twelve hours a week for a few years. I could have easily become a professional dancer— I‘m 6’1” and fairly thin.
02:00 Sometimes I’m home by 10:30 p.m., but the average is as late as 5:00 a.m. One of my clubs—The Guvernment—is open fairly late. We often have big events on a Saturday night and I stay because it’s a venue that holds thousands. Before bed, I make notes for the following day—the most important thing—so that when I get up in the morning I’m not trying to think of what I have to do. I also go through my emails, since earlier in the night I’m too busy to deal with messages. I get a lot of funny responses in the morning from people saying, “Wow. You responded to me at three in the morning.” My commitment to my business has never become less—I just sleep less, that’s all.
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