Terminally ill woman and her husband fight to save their Toronto bar

A beloved Toronto bar is fighting to stay open after a video went viral detailing their struggle on Instagram this week.

Swan Dive, a west end local in the heart of Little Portugal, is facing closure. As with many Toronto locations, it has been struggling since the pandemic. 

Earlier this week, the location’s owner, Abra Shiner, posted a video detailing anxieties and how, alongside her husband, major compromises have been made to keep Swan Dive’s doors open. 

The couple, who are facing thousands in debt, have not made any money off of the bar in over a year, as they continue to divest any income and savings into paying both staff and rent.

Despite pressure, the pair remain confident in their original vision of an uncompromising and inexpensive local space.

“We aren’t going to make any changes that we feel are going to make this place worse. I think a raise in prices will make things worse, charging cover, will make things worse, it will make this place less accessible to the people we want to make it a home too,” Shiner told YourcitywithIN.com. “The only places surviving in this town, are places for the f*cking rich.” 

Shiner and her husband, Mike Ojala, opened Swan Dive in 2015 to create a neighbourhood space where anyone can feel comfortable setting up events, shows or pop-ups. 

After years of operating as a celebrated location, Swan Dive’s journey was thrown off balance by the pandemic and a personal battle against illness. 

“I have stage four cancer — I’m dying,” says Shiner. “Before I was diagnosed as terminal near the end of COVID, staff had been jumping in running the bar, because we all thought I was coming back. Then Mike [Ojala] stepped in when we got the really hard news and took over.” 

Ojala, who gave up his career as a stage technician, has been running Swan Dive ever since and is rallying against both closure and the cost-of-living crisis keeping Toronto residents from going out. 

“I think a lot of people are broke, and a lot of people are afraid, and I think the worst thing you can do when you are afraid, is hide and risk losing your community,” Ojala told YourcitywithIN.com. “This spot has made its mark as a place to grab a cheap drink, play pool, check out an event or just be a space where you can meet and communicate with each other.” 

Beyond being a haven for patrons, Swan Dive has also built a reputation for hosting events intended for venues that have since shut down.

“Anywhere that is looking for a home, I will give it to them if I can, and it’s compulsive. When I got diagnosed, I was trying to take a step back, but I can’t, I’m constantly trying to work on things and I can’t say no to the opportunity to share something,” says Shiner. 

As a foster space for wayward exhibitions, both Shiner and Ojala are concerned that, if Swan Dive closes its doors, many events deprived of their homes in Toronto will lose their second chance. 

“If we lose places like Swan Dive, Sneaky Dee’s or the Bovine, they’re not likely to reopen, these places are important, they’re the heartbeat of the city,” says Shiner. 

At the time of publication, no set timeline has been set for a final last call for Swan Dive, as Shiner and Ojala have been doing everything they can to delay closure on a month-to-month basis.

Whether they succeed, however, is too early to tell. 

“The video online for sure helped as it went viral, there has been a massive response with people sharing it and everything, but, well, the bar was empty last night,” says Ojala. 

Until then, Swan Dive continues to outrun their swan song, and with warmer months around the corner, the ownership remains confident that they can pull through. 

However, for Shiner, keeping the doors open means a lot more than it does on the surface. 

“I may not survive but I hope Swan Dive does.”