Keep Toronto Weird

Part of our family lives in Austin, Texas and we’re extremely fortunate to visit them somewhat regularly. Austin’s mix of food culture, music, lifestyle and general weirdness is inspiring beyond words.

In fact, it inspired my wife and her business partner to open AAA Bar in downtown Toronto. The bar, now boasting 3 locations in Toronto, serves Central Texas-style BBQ and features the easy personality of a city we love.

AAA Bar logo

The name was meant to be as generic as possible, like the name of a gas station or pizza joint that’s first in the phonebook. It has the added association of AAA beef, which is the quality of brisket we serve and the highest quality beef available in Canada (USDA Prime in the US). The logo takes cues from branded cattle with the line under AAA actually being called ‘bar’ in ranching circles, so it is literally ‘AAA Bar’.

The branding takes a light approach here, with most of the character coming from the environments, staffing and handwritten menus. Environments characterized by reclaimed palette wood, hot rolled steel and angle iron were built and designed by my wife, Racquel, her business partner, a family friend with the occasional discerning eye and a little bit of elbow grease from yours truly.