Obituary: Ed Pottinger brought warm hospitality to the ‘family dining room’ at East Toronto’s iconic The Real Jerk restaurant

By MATTHEW STEPHENS

Earlier this month, Toronto’s east end lost Ed Pottinger, co-founder of the community’s iconic Caribbean restaurant The Real Jerk.

“The Pottinger family is deeply saddened to share the news that our beloved father, husband, and founder of The Real Jerk Restaurant, Ed Pottinger, has passed away,” said the Pottinger family in a statement.

Pottinger, who was battling long-term illness, passed at his north Etobicoke home on March 11 at age 69 surrounded by members of his family.

Ed Pottinger was born on April 9, 1956, in Kingston, Jamaica. In a country well-known for its vibrant, bold, and diverse dishes – it’s where the popular restauranteur developed a “lifelong” passion for Caribbean cooking.

“The flavours, traditions, and spirit of Jamaica shaped not only his recipes but also the warm hospitality he brought to everyone he met. Everything was always Irie,” reads Pottinger’s obituary.

According to a statement from the Pottinger Family, Ed was was widely known for his charismatic demeanour and warm personality towards the customers he served at the restaurant.

“When Ed opened The Real Jerk, he never saw it simply as a restaurant. To him, it was the Pottinger family dining room — a place where there was always an extra seat at the table,” said the statement issued by Ed’s family.

“He believed deeply that food brings people together, and he considered the thousands of customers who walked through the doors over the years to be part of his extended family.”

Pottinger’s wife Lily told Beach Metro News that she’s heard “more and more new stories” about her husband since his passing, and that his love for the restaurant never outweighed his love for the community he served.

“He was an honest, hard-working person who lived by the things that he believed was right” Lily said. “He always had this focus on doing the right thing, doing the best you can to help someone else. He did so many great things that he never even talked about.”

However, since his passing, residents across the city have been filling some of those gaps in Pottinger’s altruistic life through the comment section of his obituary, sharing fond memories and offering their condolences to his family.

“Eddie was a man who believed in people, and built not just a renowned restaurant, but a lasting community. His legacy lives on in every life he touched,” said one commenter on Pottinger’s obituary.

One longtime fan highlighted the journey of Pottinger and his wife since their first restaurant opened in the 80s.

“We fondly remember your original location on Queen St. E. near Greenwood back in the day, then followed you to the Broadview/Queen location and now to your present location at Carlaw/Gerrard. Our family has always enjoyed your delicious food & the cool vibes at everyone of your restaurants,” said the obituary comment.

For over four decades, The Real Jerk restaurant served as the lifeblood of Caribbean cuisine in the East Toronto area.

The couple’s first restaurant, which opened in 1984 at the Greenwood and Queen Street East intersection, was a small operation that reaped little return for the Jamaican immigrants, who moved to Canada just several years prior.

In 1989, The Real Jerk relocated to a larger corner space at Queen Street east and Broadview Avenue. Their new restaurant quickly became known for its vibrant red-and-yellow exterior and signature mascot: a giant sun wearing sunglasses.

Lily said the restaurant created many jobs for people of colour in an era where opportunities were limited for them.

“Back in the day, a lot of West Indian people couldn’t get jobs in the front of house at a restaurant, and he gave a lot of people that opportunity,” said Lily. “I find a lot of people saying ‘that was my first job and you guys were so good to us.’.”

Amid looming fears of eviction in 2012, longtime family friend and former city councillor Rob Davis helped the Pottingers launch a campaign to mobilize the community and help save the restaurant from closing its doors.

Through the efforts of both the community and Davis, the restaurant remained at the Queen and Broadview intersection for 24 years before moving to its current location at 842 Gerrard St. E. in 2013.

The restaurant received worldwide recognition three years later in 2016, when it appeared as a backdrop for Rihanna and Drake’s “Work” music video. To this day, photos from the music video can still be seen on the restaurant’s tables.

By 2018, after receiving global acclaim, it only made sense for the Pottingers to open a location in Stratton, England, where Ed was raised from age 4 to 16.

Since the opening of their Gerrard and Carlaw location, The Real Jerk continued to expand into a long-standing, family-owned restaurant chain in the city, with locations opened in Oshawa, the Upper Beaches, and Little Italy.

Some reports mention that the restaurant had become popular among many celebrities who touched down in the city – from Samuel L. Jackson to Serena Williams, even the king of pop himself, Michael Jackson.

In September of last year, the Pottingers sold the business to a longtime manager so Ed could focus on his health.

In his free time, Lily said her husband loved to dance, and that he was an avid fan of “every kind of sport,” but tennis was the couple’s favourite.

Pottinger spent three weeks in the hospital before heading home to spend his last days surrounded by his wife, three children and four grandchildren, as well as his mother, sister, and two brothers.

“I had time to cry and mourn with him for three weeks in the hospital,” said Lily. “I feel so good to know that he’s in a better place because he was really in pain.”

A celebration of Pottinger’s life will be held at Mississauga’s New Haven Funeral Centre, 7025 Legion Rd., on Thursday, March 26.