Sneaky Dee's opened as a 24-hour restaurant at 562 Bloor Street in 1987.[2] The basement contained a performance venue, which hosted the first Toronto Fringe Festival in 1989.[2]
431 College
It moved to its current location at 431 College Street in 1990 and became a major venue for Canadian punk rock, hosting Armed and Hammered and other bands.[2] In the early 1990s, Sneaky Dee's was a popular destination for anti-fascist and Anti-Racist Action (ARA) activists, and was the scene of a 1993 brawl between activists and the neo-Nazi Heritage Front after the vandalizing of a white supremacist's house in the east end.[3] After briefly hosting DJs exclusively in the late 1990s, Sneaky Dee's returned to hosting live music in 2002.[2]
Since 2011, local bands and artists have been invited to create signature dishes, including City and Colour's "Northern Blues Nachos", Cancer Bats' "The Destroyer", Sparrows' "Fifth Helena Homefries", Lights' "Cactus in The Valley Nachos", Death From Above 1979's "DFA Nachos", and Fucked Up's two breakfast dishes "The Queen of Heart Attacks" and "Fucked Up Breakfast".[4]
In September 2020, a proposal was submitted to the city of Toronto to demolish Sneaky Dee's and its surrounding buildings to construct a 13-story mixed-use condominium. Toronto city councillor Mike Layton voiced his opposition to the proposal, noting that Sneaky Dee's is "an iconic site and it would really be sad to see them go."[5]
Toronto rock band Lowest of the Low mention Sneaky Dee's (lyrics below) in the song “That Song About Trees & Kites” off their Hallucigenia album.[7]
“Well, I don’t mean to be a preacher/ And give a sermon from the church of Sneaky Dee’s/ But one more jug of beer and that point that I was reaching/ Will hit me like a vision and make me fall on my knees.”
Sneaky Dee's was mentioned by chef and TV host Anthony Bourdain in the second season of The Layover (TV series), part of an episode profiling top spots to eat, drink and experience in Toronto.[9]
