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About · Heritage · Team

One hundred and eighty-two years of being the room people remember.

The bricks are older than Confederation. The chandelier grid runs on the circuits we restored in 2014. The kitchen was rebuilt for Baro in 2019. Every decade leaves something on the room — and the team that runs it has been here long enough to know the difference between heritage and haunted.

The 1844 file

Every era, on the same brick.

  1. 1844

    King West cornerstone laid

    Brick and timber rise on what was then the lakefront. The building anchors a row of garment-trade lofts.

    TIFF crowds line the booths along King Street West

  2. 1867

    Confederation

    Toronto becomes Toronto. The building keeps its bricks.

  3. 1920s

    Garment-district loft floor

    Three floors of cutting tables and seamstresses. The chandelier grid runs gas, then electric.

  4. 1980s

    First creative tenants

    Architects, photographers, and a small theatre company sublet the second floor. The bones get loved-on for the first time.

  5. 2014

    Reopens as The Loft on King

    Honey Hospitality takes the lease. Heritage permits, structural reinforcement, chandelier grid restored.

    The Loft on King — exterior facade, 485 King West, Toronto

  6. 2019

    Baro takes the ground floor

    Latin coast cooking moves in. Every event upstairs starts being plated by the kitchen one floor below.

    Baro main dining room set for a corporate evening reception

  7. 2023

    Rooftop redesigned

    Retractable canopy, perimeter lighting, distributed PA. Skyline sundown ceremonies become signature.

  8. 2025

    1,200th event hosted

    A national beauty launch + 47 weddings + 18 corporate offsites that year alone. (Sample milestone — replace with confirmed annual counts.)

    A bride beside her wedding cake at The Loft on King

  9. 2026

    v2 — cinematic rebuild

    Site rebuilt from the ground up. Same room, better-told story.

Meet the team

The people you’ll actually email.

No call centre, no white-label catering. One events lead from inquiry to wrap, plus the Baro kitchen and AV team — already in the building.

  • BS

    Owner · Honey Hospitality

    Brandon Sky

    Toronto hospitality lifer. Took the King West building in 2014 with a heritage architect and a structural engineer. Still walks the room before every wedding.

    Owns: Big-picture · partnerships · room

  • MD

    Director of Events

    Mackenzie Davis

    Twelve hundred events later. Mac runs the run-of-show on every booking and is the single voice clients hear from inquiry to wrap.

    Owns: Events · client relationships · floor

  • CS

    Executive Chef · Baro

    Chef Steve Gonzalez

    Latin coast veteran, Vancouver to Toronto via Mexico City. Builds every tasting menu at the menu meeting and plates the room himself on big nights.

    Owns: Kitchen · menus · tastings

  • LP

    Senior Events Lead

    Lena Park

    Production-side background on TIFF activations. Owns weddings, mitzvahs, and the producers' relationship on every brand launch.

    Owns: Weddings · launches · production

  • MC

    Head of AV + Production

    Marcus Chen

    Patches your DSP, hangs your truss, runs the cue sheet. Bring the deck — Marcus already knows the room.

    Owns: AV · lighting · technical riders

  • PS

    Bar Director

    Priya Singh

    Builds the signature cocktail for every event. Three-pour mezcal flights are her work. Will absolutely judge you for ordering vodka soda.

    Owns: Bar · cocktails · wine pairings

Press & recognition

Other people, on the record.

Sustainability

The greenest building is the one already standing.

Heritage = embodied carbon saved

Restoring 1844 brick avoided ~2,400 tonnes of new-build embodied carbon vs. ground-up construction in our footprint.

Local-first menus

Baro sources 80%+ of produce from Ontario growers in season. Coffee, dairy, eggs — all local year-round.

Compost + waste sorting on every event

Three-stream sorting baked into the floor plan. Composting partner picks up every Tuesday + Friday.

LED grid + daylight harvesting

100% LED on the chandelier grid since 2022. Skylights + window-side dimming on automated control.

Want the in-person version?

Brandon or Mackenzie will walk you through every era on the tour.

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