Toronto goes out. The city drew a record 28.2 million visitors in 2025, on top of a population past 3.2 million, and King West still runs on bottle service after dark.
Opening your own club takes two levels of government. The province decides who can pour and until when. The City decides if you count as a nightclub at all, and what that means for your licence. Here is the path, in the order it usually runs.
First, are you a nightclub?
Toronto’s answer depends on size. Rooms holding more than 150 people with amplified music or dancing need the City’s nightclub licence. Smaller rooms are licensed as eating, drinking or entertainment places.
Know which side of that line you’re on before you sign anything, because it shapes the layout, the paperwork and the inspections. Since 2025, nightclubs have been allowed in most commercial zones, but “most” isn’t “all”, so confirm with the City that your address is zoned for the use.
Getting a liquor licence in Ontario
Selling alcohol takes a liquor sales licence from the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), applied for in its iAGCO portal. Only an owner can apply. You’ll need a Tax Compliance Verification number from Ontario’s Ministry of Finance, disclosures for every owner, director, partner and on-site manager, and floor plans drawn to scale. Owners and managers may go through police and financial background checks.
If the address hasn’t held a licence in the last six months, the AGCO sends a placard to post on the front of the building for 7 to 28 days. Residents and the City can object, and a valid objection can lead to a public meeting or a tribunal review.
Then the City signs off. Fire, Building and Public Health each inspect and report to the AGCO, and police and the ward councillor are told. Finally, an AGCO inspector walks the premises before the licence is issued, sometimes with conditions attached.
The published fees:
- A new two-year licence costs $1,055, or $925 when no public notice is needed
- A four-year licence costs $1,355, or $1,225 without notice
- The City of Toronto’s clearance adds $994.28, including HST
The AGCO publishes no processing time, so build slack into the opening date. Since 1 April 2026, bars and clubs buy their alcohol from the LCBO, including beer.
What time clubs close in Toronto
In Ontario, alcohol sales and service end at 2 a.m., and every drink must be cleared by 2:45. There’s no legal “last call”: when you call last orders before 2 a.m. is up to you. New Year’s Eve is the one night service runs to 3 a.m.
Serving later takes an AGCO extension for an event of significance, applied for at least 30 days ahead. Televised events never qualify. For a club, that means the money is made before 2 a.m., and door times, table turns and staffing all work back from that hour.
Bouncers and the door
Ontario law counts a bouncer as a security guard. Door staff need a security guard licence and a uniform marked SECURITY. If you employ your own guards rather than hiring an agency, you’ll register as an employer too.
Everyone who sells, serves or takes orders for alcohol needs Smart Serve certification, and so does security staff you employ. Certificates last five years, and inspectors can ask to see them.
The drinking age is 19. Staff check ID before serving anyone who looks under it, and at the door if your licence keeps under-19s out.
Bottle service and the table bill
Most of a club’s night is made at the tables. Where Toronto clubs publish a table minimum, the lowest runs from $250 to $750 before tax and service, and bigger tables reach $1,250 to $1,500. Club tickets for a Thursday to Saturday night run roughly $15 to $35.
Two rules catch new owners out. First, the CRA says a service charge the venue adds to the bill carries 13% HST, whether it’s mandatory or suggested. Second, Ontario employment law still counts that service charge as a tip, so it belongs to the staff, not the house. Price your bottle service minimums knowing the service charge is payroll, not margin.
Wages start at Ontario’s minimum of $17.95 an hour from 1 October 2026, the same for servers as for everyone else. Job Bank puts the median for Toronto bartenders at $20 an hour.
Pop-ups and events outside the club
A liquor licence covers one address. A pop-up, a festival bar or a private party somewhere else runs on a special occasion permit instead: $150 a day if you’re selling alcohol, $50 a day if you’re not. Apply about 10 days ahead for a private event and 30 days for a public one.
Noise, and the neighbours
From 11 p.m. to 7 a.m., music reaching a neighbour’s home or workplace is capped at 50 dB(A), or 65 dB(C) for the bass, measured outdoors. A noise exemption permit for a louder event needs 28 days’ notice. If the room is near residential streets, soundproofing is cheaper than complaints.
Where clubs open, and when they fill
King West is the city’s original nightclub district and still the home of bottle service and lounges. The Entertainment District fills around the theatres and the concert and sports venues, and Church-Wellesley is the heart of Toronto’s 2SLGBTQ+ nightlife, with its drag stages and dance nights.
Some weekends sell themselves. Pride at the end of June, Caribana on the Civic Holiday weekend, TIFF in September and Nuit Blanche in October all fill the city, and holiday Mondays turn the Sunday before into a Saturday. Staff and stock for those nights first.
Before you sign the lease
Confirm the zoning, the 150-person threshold and the liquor licence path before you commit to a space. The rest, from Smart Serve to the noise bylaw, is manageable once you know it’s coming.
For the full rules in one place, with every licence fee, the closing-time timeline, wage rates and the year’s big nights, the Toronto nightclub and bar guide from VenueStack is kept current, with a link to each official source. Confirm anything you plan around with the AGCO or the City before you rely on it.
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