text: Ah the Matador!  I used to love that place.  Open till 6:30 a.m. every morning, rock n' roll bands playing, the biker dudes way off  in the corner selling mickeys of hard liquor (surreptitiously since there was no liquor licence here) while the single mothers (or so the urban myth informed me) who ran the place sold soft drinks as you walked in.  
  
  What I think I liked best about this place was that at the time I went there it was such a cross-generational hang-out - the very young (let's say 18) to the much older boomer crowd (50s and 60s) all mingled there, dancing and talking and yes, smoking (this was pre-smoking ban in Toronto).  It was just the place to go when everything closed and you weren't yet ready to go home.
  
  If you stuck it out, the place closed at 6:30 a.m. to Leonard Cohen's 'Closing Time'.
  
  It was a unique spot in Toronto, and I really can't imagine how that vibe can ever be recreated.  At best it will likely be a self-conscious effort that goes nowhere.