Historic coffee house closing in downtown Oshawa

A 186-year-old building, once described as the best tavern between Toronto and Kingston and a neighbourhood coffee house for the past five years has shut its doors in downtown Oshawa.

The Oshawa House Café, one of the oldest buildings in the city, has gone by many names throughout the years and in 2019,  property owners Ravi and Bill Khanna (who had owned the site since 2004) decided to give it new life by re-opening it under the original historic name.

The café, rumoured to be a favourite drinking spot for John A. McDonald as he travelled the Kingston-Toronto stagecoach route in the mid-1800s, and its upstairs meeting hall served as a meeting place for the community in the early years of the city. Those upstairs quarters are now home to a variety of tenants, including university students.

According to the book Oshawa: The Manchester of Canada, published in 1898, rooms back in the day rented for $1 a night (with special rates for longer stays) and the furnished rooms even had electricity.

A blog from the Oshawa Museum noted the hotel, which was constructed sometime around 1838 in the Italianate architectural style, gradually declined and was converted to apartments with stores at ground level by the 1920s

Since its re-birth as the new-again Oshawa House Café in 2019, the coffee house has been a popular downtown meeting place once again.

Not popular enough in this economy, unfortunately.

“It is with a heavy heart that we announce the permanent closing of our café. We are deeply grateful for your support and loyalty over the years,” the Khannas said in a post on Facebook announcing the closing. “Thank you for being a part of our journey.”