City records show a new business licence for Submarine Dive Bar at 277 East Pender St., a Chinatown site that has been vacant for more than a decade.
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A new cocktail bar called Submarine Dive Bar is set to move into a long-quiet Chinatown storefront at 277 East Pender St., after city records listed a business licence for the space for the first time since 2008.
The building was originally occupied by the store Sam Lee Kee Plenty and later operated as restaurants, residences and a travel agency before becoming vacant for more than a decade following the shuttering of Kwong Wong Kee BBQ House.
Details on what the bar will offer have been limited, but an Instagram account under the Submarine Dive Bar name has appeared, with a single post reading “Preparing to surface...”.
Earlier this fall, a press release from Prophecy—described as a cocktail bar at the Hotel Georgia—spoke to the team behind Submarine Dive Bar. In October, Prophecy hosted guest shifts pairing “Beam Suntory-inspired cocktails with mini submarine sandwiches,” with Edward Bell and Sean Suggett described as having previously worked at Brandi’s and as “now building Submarine Dive Bar in Chinatown.”
Bell spent nearly nine years at Brandi’s Showlounge, while Submarine Dive Bar has been described as an “approachable, industry-focused cocktail bar in Chinatown, alongside partner Joe Casson.” Casson is the beverage director at Published on Main and has previously worked at the Keefer Bar as head bartender and at Bar Susu.
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