By Kait Fowlie
Many of you Clockwork Orange fans out there may have noticed a new haunt on College Street named after a certain drug den in the controversial novel by Anthony Burgess. Toronto’s first Korova Milkbar opened its doors about 5 months ago, serving a creative brunch, (think pistachio pancakes, banana bread French toast and tofu scramblers) lunch and a plethora of luscious smoothies. Now, their liquor licence has just been approved after a few shaky objections, and the magic is really going to start happening. With a spacious, leafy back patio and an upstairs venue for live performance art, Korova Milkbar boasts a few extra gems that many other literary bars in the city lack. Brittany Crick, the manager of the refreshing new hangout, tells me a bit about what we can expect at the bar in days to come, whose been stomping around the grounds, and of course, the book that inspired it all.

How is the Korova Milkbar different from other bars in the city?
Brittany: What we’re trying to do here is create a friendly, artistic space. We understand that it’s hard to get yourself out there as an artist, it generally costs a lot. We have a performance space upstairs, for bands and gallery openings. The artist in here now (Rebecca Finn Simonetti – whose sensual, dreamy images of women cover the walls) is hoping to do an opening upstairs soon. It’s just a laid back, accessible space.

What kind of crowd have you had in here so far?
Brittany: A brunch crowd, mostly business people from in the area. We haven’t had too many young people yet, since we’ve been advertised mostly as a bar and people don’t think we’re open during the day. We’re targeting people mid 20’s to 30’s.

What kind of events are going on at the Korova Milkbar?
Brittany: A little bit of everything! We’ve got all the sound equipment set up upstairs for live band performances. If someone wanted to have a poetry reading or something like that, we would be open to it. I’ve got a friend who works for some different environmental groups, and he might do something like that. Basically, it’s a multi-use community space.

Are you a Clockwork Orange fan?
Brittany: I am, yes. I don’t think it had much influence (on the bar), except as a literary reference. We’re trying to attract an intelligent, literary crowd, people who want to come hang out and read, and use free wifi. We’re less focused on the movie then we are on the book. I know the movie was pretty violent. In New York, there’s a Korova Milkbar and it’s a replica of the fictional place, as far as I’m concerned. There’s also one in Australia and Montreal.

Why did you choose the area (Little Italy) to set up shop?
Brittany: Mainly the location, and the building is great, it’s set up for what we want to do. A little further East along College you have venues like the El Mocambo, and we wanted to bring that a little further West. Little Italy needed something different. It has a lot of fine dining restaurants. Plus, the Annex and Queen West are just a short walk away.

Are you from Toronto?
I’m from Northern BC. I’ve been here for 3 years. My brother moved here, and introduced me to a lot of music that I knew I couldn’t get involved in unless I moved here.

Check out the website for upcoming events and news from the new bar here: http://www.korovamilkbar.ca