Cinephiles may be salivating at the impressive list of films premiering at this year's Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), but it's nothing compared to the eager dollar-sign eyes of Toronto's nightlife impresarios. Anyone who has ever been around the city during TIFF knows that the film festival isn’t entirely about cinema. The artistic side of the festival shares top billing with glitz and glamour as celebrities flock from Hollywood to roost. And they bring their celebrity lifestyles with them. As Toronto becomes flooded with VIP's and Kind-of-Important P's (KIP's), high-minded restaurants and lounges try to get open in time to host them.

Hoping to open its doors in the next week or two is Dolce Social Ballroom, the new project from Travis Agresti, the man who spearheaded the Inside Entertainment Complex and eventually its upscale quotient Kai. After a long, unexplained absence, the wunderkind is making his grand return with Dolce, King and Bathurst club that promises to introduce "a new kind of nightlife" to Toronto. Long-time scenester/promoter/DJing, Joe Marella, is also involved. Marella says Dolce will have so much entertainment, some of it interactive, that it won't matter whether there are 800 people (which is the bar's capacity) or 80 people present. Originally scheduled for a June opening, the club will now open just in time for TIFF (no real surprise there), and although the club is planning on introducing a strict 28-plus age policy, I'm sure it will be waived for just the right people (i.e. Megan Fox).

Meanwhile, not far from Dolce, the long-awaited Buca restaurant is finally getting ready to make its debut. Tucked away in an alley next to Cheval, the King West resto boasts an ownership team that includes Gus Giazitzidis and Peter Tsebelis (of Brassai and The Saint), an Executive Chef that well established himself at Mark McEwan's One and North 44 (Rob Gentile), and interiors by innovative product and furniture designer Guido Constantino. The menu takes a seasonal approach to traditional Italian cooking ("like something my grandmother would make," says Gentile), but the custom-made chandeliers and brick interior suggest something much more exclusive, as does the initial "strict reservation policy" that will be implemented for their pre-TIFF debut (around September 9).

One place that seemed primed to be a big TIFF hit is The Roosevelt Room. The new supper club, opening behind the still under-construction Toronto International Film Festival Tower, has employed The Design Agency (a.k.a Anwar Mekhayech, Matt Davis and Allen Chan a.k.a. TV's Designer Guys) to emulate the ultimate bastion of sophisticated glamour: 1920's Hollywood. More specifically, they've looked to the landmark California celeb-magnet, Roosevelt Hotel. Chef Trever Wilkinson has even recreated the hotel's original 1929 menu with a few modern twists. It seems as though this Adelaide Street haunt was specifically designed to pander towards TIFF. Unfortunately, due to the Toronto City Workers Strike, the club was unable to get all the inspections and paper work done in time, and will now have to settle for an early October opening.

Meanwhile, perennial festival standby, Lobby, has changed ownership, but they're keeping it quiet, at least for now. Until the end of the festival, the sophisticated lounge will retain its look and feel, until The Design Agency (the very same) undergoes a full-scale renovation of the space. You may know new owner Abbis Mahmoud as the president of Urban Male Magazine or you may know him as the current owner of The Brunswick House. Always a student bastion of popped collars and date rape, the Brunny has also recently made news for neighbourhood complaints and a few violent incidents, so Mahmoud may have good reason for going low-key this time, but there will be less reason to worry since he will have himself a much different clientele at the swanky Park Hyatt corner of Avenue and Bloor.

Another big-time personnel change has occurred at Toronto's flashiest nightclub, Circa, and somehow it's managed to avoid extensive media scrutiny (until now). When Peter Gatien started the John Street super-club, it was simultaneously heralded as the New York City club king's grand return to his hometown following a less-than-savoury retreat from the spotlight. Gatien left Circa back in March, and somehow no one has paid much attention. In the midst of all this, new management cancelled the wacky flagship Randomland party, in what promoters A.D/D describes on their website as "a desire for Circa to be more inline with the conventional Club District vibe". Circa tends to become the arena for TIFF's biggest blowout parties, but who knows if that will still be the case for 2009?

Finally, I really shouldn't know this since, they've very publicly blackballed us, but Guy and Michael Rubino (renowned douchebags or not) have officially started taking reservations for their newly-rebranded Ame restaurant (formerly rain). Of course, I only know this from calling their answering machine. Without a clever alias and a disguise, the Rubino Bros wouldn't allow me anywhere near their new billion-dollar baby. I think I'll survive.