Zanzibar Tavern – A Building in the Body Business Since 1895

Club Zanzibar was once located at 359 Yonge St (just south of Gerrard St E) in the Downtown Yonge area of Toronto.

August 16, 2026 – CBC reported that Toronto Fire Services responded to a fire at the Zanzibar building shortly after 6 a.m. The cause of the three-alarm blaze is currently unknown, and no injuries have been reported. Allen Cooper, the owner of the Zanzibar and the son of its founder, expressed his devastation, saying in an interview with CBC that there was “a fair bit of damage” and remains hopeful about reopening the business “bigger and better” than before.

Young & Millard Undertaking House

It’s pretty remarkable to learn that the present-day Club Zanzibar adult entertainment club has a rich history dating back to 1895, when it was built as an undertaker’s business and residence. Designed by the renowned Toronto architects Burke & Horwood for John Young and Alexander Millard Undertakers, the three-story Victorian-era building looked vastly different from what it does today.

The front had an impressive appearance. The first storey was faced with brownstone, and the balance was clad with Don Valley purple pressed brick. Between two entrances was an elegant stained-glass window. The interior was described as “splendidly appointed,” featuring various showrooms and casket displays. The basement housed the morgue, and the upper floors were dedicated to a handsomely decorated residence.

The positioning of the windows on the upper floors hasn’t changed; however, their once-unique style has. In particular, the bay window on the second floor has been replaced with a flat window. Other architectural elements that added to the building’s unique character included delicate scalloping over the third-storey windows and decorative brick scallops under the roofline.

Before the building at 359 Yonge St was constructed, John Young occupied a few storefronts along Yonge St since circa 1870 when he was first listed in the Toronto City Directory as an undertaker and cabinet maker – a skill required to make a coffin. Alexander Millard began his career as the manager of Mr. Young’s undertaking establishment, known as “The Leading Undertaker.” After working for him for some time, Mr. Millard took over the business and successfully ran it until his passing in 1910 at the age of 58.

In the year that followed, the building was acquired by the EJ Humphrey Burial Company. An article that appeared in a local newspaper at the time proudly proclaimed that the company’s newest branch on Yonge St boasted first-class goods and services with top-of-the-line equipment, including horses, carriages, and private ambulances. The article also highlighted the latest addition to the company’s fleet – the “casket motor delivery car.” By 1913, the burial company had vacated the building.

After the Funeral Home

From the mid-1910s to the mid-1940s, the building was home to various residential tenants and businesses, including a piano company, a photo studio, and a cafe.

The Rosticceria opened in 1947, transforming the old funeral home into a dining destination featuring the Elixir Room and Dining Lounge, which served American and French cuisine. Four years after opening, the restaurant closed for a complete redesign.

The Zanzibar Tavern

On November 15, 1951, the restaurant reopened under a new name, the Zanzibar Tavern. It was advertised as “Toronto’s Finest Dining Room” and was known to offer reasonably priced meals in an enchanting ambiance for lunch, dinner, or a post-theatre snack. The Zanzibar Tavern featured live entertainment, no cover, and in 1953, a roast chicken dinner cost $1.25.

In 1961, David Cooper, also known as Davey C, purchased the tavern. Mr. Cooper came from a family of successful entrepreneurs. His parents owned a dry goods store in Kensington Market, his father operated the Bermuda Tavern (once at 379 Yonge St), and his brother owned the Brass Rail (at 701 Yonge St).

Early on, the Zanzibar was more about live music. The tavern was in the centre of the Yonge Street Strip, a hub of entertainment for locals and visitors alike.

The Circulating Ham Sandwich

Ontario law mandated that food be served with alcoholic beverages. To comply with the law, Zanzibar came up with a unique solution—a single ham sandwich that would accompany every ordered drink. The sandwich, which was never consumed, would circulate from table to table until another customer needed it. Authorities were not entirely convinced of Zanzibar’s adherence to the regulations, and in March 1963, the tavern’s liquor license was suspended for two weeks for repeatedly serving liquor without proper meals.

Go-Go Dancers at the Zanzibar

In 1965, the a-go-go craze hit nearby venues like Friar’s Tavern and Le Coq d’Or, and it was good for business. So, to keep up with the times, Mr. Cooper added three regular go-go dancers to accompany the bands on stage. By 1968, the Zanzibar had six go-go dancers—one psychedelic, one regular, and four topless (which in Toronto at the time meant the dancers wore pasties).

Every afternoon, the house trio, led by the talented singer and organist Bobby Dean Blackburn, took the stage, offering a mix of R&B, rock, and jazz. Of course, patrons came to see the go-go girls, but the trio’s great music kept the place filled. Locals and musicians in town for their own shows (like Jimmy McGriff, Taj Mahal, members of James Brown’s band and Rick James, to name a few) would make their way to the Zanzibar for a chance to jam with Mr. Blackburn’s band, eagerly unpacking their instruments and waiting their turn to join in on a set.

Inside the Zanzibar Tavern was a neon-lit maze of blinking signs and spinning globes while closed-circuit cameras took photos of the dance floor and projected them on the walls. Mannequins were scattered about, and there were ads for house specialties, like the Zanzibar Zulu, a mix of bourbon, gin, crème de menthe and anisette for $2.65. The drink came with free transportation to St Michael’s Hospital.

David Cooper would leave his office door open to hear the musical talent. If a fight broke out in the club, he wasn’t afraid to break it up and throw unruly patrons out.

The Zanzibar Circus Tavern

In the early 1970s, the venue was renamed the Zanzibar Circus Tavern. Around this time, dancers at the Victory Burlesque Theatre stopped using pasties. This spelled the end of music at the Zanzibar when it transitioned to topless/burlesque entertainment and, in the 1980s, a strip club.

A Glitzy New Exterior for Club Zanzibar

While other bars and clubs on Yonge St were closing, Mr. Cooper was always trying new ideas to keep things going. In 2001, Club Zanzibar underwent a $300,000 Vegas-style facelift. The building was covered with 10-kt gold glazed tiles, while multicoloured neon and glittering bulb signs illuminated the facade.

Mr. Cooper retired around 2009, and his son took over operating the business.

In 2010, dancers and waitstaff who were taking a break on Zanzibar’s rooftop were unaware that someone from a neighbouring tall building was secretly photographing them. To their shock and dismay, these images were published online without their knowledge or consent, leading to a major privacy debate.

When David Cooper passed away in 2019 at the age of 84, the sign that usually says something about the entertainers temporarily read, “DAVEY C OUR FOUNDER REST IN PEACE.”

The famous Club Zanzibar still draws a crowd and is one of the city’s last surviving strip clubs. However, the Zanzibar is currently closed due to a fire, which occurred on August 16, 2026.

The Century-Old Building

As of writing this article, it should be noted that this building, which is over 125 years old, does not have a heritage designation. Other architectural works by Burke & Horwood include the Robert Simpson Company Limited department store building (today home to The Bay) at the southwest corner of Yonge St and Queen St W, and the Bank of British North America building at the northeast corner of Yonge St and Wellington St E.

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Zanzibar Photos

SOURCE

• Heritage Toronto: The Heart of Music City: Zanzibar & Steele’s Tavern
• The Globe Newspaper Archives: Sep 14, 1895, pg 18
• The Globe Newspaper Archives: Mar 16, 1896, pg 3
• The Globe Newspaper Archives: Nov 19, 1902, pg 12
• The Globe Newspaper Archives: Mar 14, 1910, pg 14
• The Globe and Mail Newspaper Archives: May 10, 1947, pg 9
• The Globe and Mail Newspaper Archives: Mar 29, 1949, pg 23
• The Globe and Mail Newspaper Archives: Nov 12, 1951, pg 13
• The Globe and Mail Newspaper Archives: Nov 15, 1951, pg 24
• The Globe and Mail Newspaper Archives: Aug 31, 1953, pg 13
• The Globe and Mail Newspaper Archives: Nov 6, 1965, pg 17
• The Globe and Mail Newspaper Archives: Mar 20, 1963, pg 5
• The Globe and Mail Newspaper Archives: Aug 13, 1968, pg 11
• The Toronto Daily Star Newspaper Archives: Sep 6, 1968, pg 27
• The Globe and Mail Newspaper Archives: May 7, 1970, pg 10
• The Globe and Mail Newspaper Archives: Apr 21, 1973, pg 15
• Toronto Star Newspaper Archives: Nov 26, 2010, pg GT7
• Toronto Star Newspaper Archives: Aug 19, 2019, pg A19
• Canadian Architect and Builder, Volume 12, Number 6, June 1899, pg 115
• CBC: Zanzibar Tavern owner ‘devastated’ as Toronto Fire…
• Photos: Denise Marie for TorontoJourney416
• Vintage Photos: City of Toronto Archives, Toronto Public Library, Peter MacCallum & Canadiana
• Toronto City Directory by Might Directories Ltd 1896 & 1961 courtesy of Toronto Public Library