jillys toronto

Soon you can own a piece of Jilly's strip club

East-end strip club Jilly's shut its doors in July 2014, but that can't stop you from owning a unique piece of this iconic Toronto joint.

The Toronto-based reclaimed furniture company Bread&Butter recently bought all of the wooden joists from Jilly's, which used to be located on the first floor of the Broadview Hotel.

Owner Blake Shaver salvaged the still workable material after stopping by the construction site and speaking to foreman. "Instead of taking this wood and throwing it in the dump," he said. "I would love to come by and grab it, salvage it, make some stuff, so the history of it can continue on."

Bread&Butter currently works out of a 1,200 square-foot space near Christie Station. But, Shaver wants to upgrade. He's thinking about using the Jilly's wood to make affordable items such as shelves and coffee tables, which he'd sell through a crowd-funding campaign supporting an expansion.

Usually, Bread&Butter creates custom designs for homes and restaurants, including Woodlot's wine shelf and the wooden walls at Fat City Blues. Most projects are made with century wood, or wood that's at least one hundred years old.

Though Jilly's is gone, the New Broadview Hotel is currently under renovation as developer Streetcar is transforming the 122-year-old building it into a fully functioning boutique hotel.

Would you buy furniture made out of reclaimed wood from Jilly's? Let us know in the comments.

Photo by smedly in the blogTO Flickr pool.


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