In the afternoon sun, people walking by the recently renamed Village Idiot Pub across from the Art Gallery of Ontario can still spy the faint outline of its former name, the Village Genius, peeking out from underneath the new signage.
It’s par for the course for a bar that wears its history on its sleeve.
Inside the wood-paneled pub are quotes and photographs of famous scientists and writers like Stephen Hawking and Margaret Atwood. Meanwhile, staff members of the bar wear T-shirts bearing the slogan: “A good pub could not function without an idiot!”
The contradictory messaging is the result of a series of name changes over the years. When owner Atef Girgis first opened the pub on the corner of Dundas St. and McCaul St. in 1987, it was primarily a restaurant, called the Gallery Bistro.
After business took a dip, Girgis decided to rebrand the location as a bar in 2000 and the Village Idiot Pub was born — influenced by the nearby Village by the Grange.
But after almost 20 years under the Village Idiot moniker, Girgis noticed more and more customers were less than happy with the cheeky name. In an effort to change with the times and be more “politically correct,” Girgis said he decided to rebrand once again, this time to the Village Genius.
The name change was covered by local broadcasters at the time in 2019, and prompted some mixed reactions from patrons, some of whom missed the old name.
About three months ago, the Village Genius pub quietly changed its name back to Village Idiot, this time with no media coverage.
TorontoToday sat down with Girgis who revealed he changed the name back due to community demand.
“In the last five years, I think there were more people asking for the ‘Village Idiot’ back than people happy with ‘Village Genius,’” he said. “To the point where [patrons] were saying they don't come anymore or they don't introduce the place to their friends because it's not ‘the Idiot.’”
On top of that, Girgis said he got upwards of 20 emails asking him to change the name back.
Girgis saved a lot of the original Village Idiot decor, including posters and framed art. He plans to take some of it out of storage to revamp the interior now that the re-rebrand is in place.
So far, no one has called in with complaints. When asked if he would be willing to change the name once more to Village Genius if enough people asked for it, Girgis joked, “I think I’ll probably get out of the business.”
For now, the Village Idiot is here to stay.
Bar regular Casey, who asked that we only include his first name, says he prefers the Village Idiot name because it has a “better ring” to it and is a good conversation starter.
He continues to be drawn to the bar because of its character and charm, and laments that there aren't too many places left in the city where bar patrons and staff regularly chat and joke around.
“I come from the old school where you go to the bar, you sit, and if there are others around, you all start chatting. There used to be sort of a bar culture,” he said.
Casey said the Village Idiot is a good example of a pub that’s kept up its sociable atmosphere.
The Village Idiot is one of four bars that the Girgis family now owns, including Sin and Redemption, the Town Crier, and a bar that has yet to open in Davisville.
