Anyone looking for a gloriously trashy, lowbrow night around Church and Wellesley would surely be disappointed to find the notice of closure on the door of Zelda’s. One of Toronto's most infamous, popular, and outrageous Gay Village lounges, Zelda's was forced out of the area by the same factor as many other mainstays: an exponential increase in rent. Indeed, it’s easy to look at the closure as representative of a larger trend in the neighbourhood, but owner Michael Swann is tired of being saddled with the burden.

“I’m not responsible for the collapse of the Gay Village,” says Swann. Zelda’s was never meant to represent anything beyond pure, unadulterated (or adulterated) fun, and that’s why it has made such an easy move to Yonge Street. Taking over the space that recently housed Arrabiata, but was earlier the home of the ownership team’s original cafe/bar, Living Well, Zelda’s has reopened, fittingly, as Zelda’s Living Well. Zelda Angelfire and her crew of debaucherous underlings don't just fade away into glitter-covered obscurity, after all.

Understatement has never really been a priority for Zelda’s or Living Well, but Zelda’s Living Well is every bit the kitschy, gay-friendly hot mess that made both its predecessors names, especially in the second floor bar space. Made up with the original Zelda’s sign from the Village, a Cadillac on the wall, barrel-chested mannequins, a mini wood-worn “Muskoka Room” (more of a corner, really), a sizeable stage, and perhaps the most auspicious addition, a brass stripper pole. Just like days of old, inhibition-free guys and gals flock to the room to guzzle booze, dance, let loose, sing karaoke, perform in drag competitions, wrestle in pudding – anything really.

On the first floor is where Zelda’s Living Well comes anywhere close to “subdued.” Mostly reserved for dining (but also offering plenty of inventive cocktails), the space combines a red brick wall/checkerboard floor motif with elements of ironic 50’s nostalgia and “Googie Architecture,” which essentially amounts to the future as imagined by the past (think The Jetsons or the Seattle Space Needle). Flashing silver antennae and reflective metallic finishing battle for space with quaint 50’s advertisements and cheeky knick knacks.

The menu has been assembled from Zelda’s standards and some resurrected old favourites from 90’s Living Well, with surprisingly diverse options ranging from Cala-Mary to Fab Fajitas to a Zelda Goes Clubbin Sandwich (grilled chicken breast with maple-smoked bacon), but in case you think it’s getting too wholesome, know that the downstairs space will eventually play host to events like Dirty Bingo. The Gay Village may be losing its grip on the community, but, no matter where it’s located, Zelda’s sure isn’t.