U of T students may be disappointed — or relieved — to hear that local pizzeria Cora Pizza has been put up for sale.
Known for its cheap prices and generous slices, Cora Pizza has been a family-owned business since it opened in 1984. It remains unclear whether the sale will result in a closure, or if the restaurant will carry on under new management.
Many students have dubbed Cora Pizza, located near Spadina Avenue and Harbord Street, a staple in the U of T community. Regularly open late, the restaurant is a favourite for those undertaking all-nighters. Online reviews proclaim that Cora’s is “the closest thing you can find in the core [to] a NY style slice. Cora offers the kind of drippy, gooey slice that every U of T co-ed dreams about grabbing after class.”
“This pizza store is a huge part of student life at U of T. It is very close to Morrison Hall residence, New College residence, Innis residence, Robarts library and many other houses,” says another reviewer.
While many students openly profess their love for the pizza joint, others say it’s hard to forget the sanitation issues of the past, which forced Cora to close briefly in 2009. The Toronto Public Health food safety program DineSafe found “gross unsanitary conditions” after “several dead rats and fresh rat droppings were found on the premises.”
Cora reopened its doors a few months after the closure and has since passed every health inspection, including the latest conducted by DineSafe in October 2012. One student said the potential closure or sale is “a devastating loss for students and rodents alike”
While employees said they were confident that Cora Pizza was not closing, ownership declined to comment. The pizzeria has been listed on HomeFinder and Craigslist, as well as on Kijiji. For any students with a passion for pizza-making, the asking price has recently been lowered from $149,900 to $129,000
