Swan Dive

The  Dundas West strip between Dufferin and Landsdowne has gained a little of the street’s trademark bohemian charm. Swan Dive, a casual watering hole that opened in January of 2016, was launched by industry vets Abra Shiner and Rebecca Lawton, who were looking to create the perfect blend of kitsch, dive, and grandma’s basement.

Abra and Rebecca met working the Queen West bar scene circa the early 2000s, when hipster style had yet to be mass-produced and Queen Street West was an epicenter of esoteric cool. Abra had been dreaming up Swan Dive as long as she could remember; gradually stockpiling antiques and knick-knacks from garage sales, flea markets and curbsides, and hunting for the perfect location.

It was around the time Abra discovered the unassuming storefront at 1631 Dundas Street West, that the estranged buds met up in Trinity Bellwoods Park one crisp fall morning to coo over Bex’s new baby boy, Bowie. It was there, over java and mandarin oranges, that Bex and Abra decided to make a go of opening Swan Dive as a team.

The two bar-mavens envisioned a bar with something to stimulate the imagination at every corner, and that is exactly what they have crafted; it’s a place to let loose, while feeling at home.