Lick's Homeburgers returns to Ontario
· Toronto Sun
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Get your Guk on.
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Toronto’s iconic hamburger restaurant Lick’s Homeburgers has returned, though you’ll have to travel a ways to get it. According to BlogTO , the beloved chain, which closed its last location in 2026, is back with a new location at Shawanaga First Nation Gas & Variety on Hwy. 69, about three hours north of Toronto, past Parry Sound.
Those who lived in Toronto in the 1980s and 1990s will fondly remember Lick’s, which briefly returned at the CNE this year. The first locatio n opened in 1980 on Queen St. E. in the Beaches. People showed up for the thick, spiced six-ounce char-broiled beef patties served on buttered buns with aged cheddar, plus off-key singing from the people who grilled them for you, served with thick fries and signature Guk sauce—a tangy, mayo-style sauce thick with relish and garlic.
The whole package was a delicious mess, and it made for quick success. Lick’s grew to 30 locations across Ontario, and if you couldn’t get to a location, their Homeburgers, Nature burgers and calorie-conscious Gobblers (turkey burger) were sold at grocery stores, along with bottles of their infamous Guk sauce.
End of an era
But the good times couldn’t last forever. The financial crisis of 2008 hit Lick’s hard. Customers shifted to quick-easy meals instead of Lick’s sit-down burger boutique experience. Location after location began to close, with the original Queen Street location shuttering in 2013. The last Lick’s in Toronto shut down in summer of 2021, another closed in Parry Sound this past May to move to the new location.