When 6ixRetail covered OCHE King West‘s opening in May, Ryan Fisher talked about building a destination venue where activities—not alcohol—drove the experience. Six months later, the thesis is proving out.
“I always say the best marketing you can do is have people in your space,” Fisher said in a recent interview. “Once they’re in the space, we feel like we can give them a really good experience which leads to more business.”
That philosophy has guided OCHE King West since opening in June above SPIN Toronto. The high-tech darts venue operates on a simple thesis: give people something to do beyond drinking, and they’ll come regardless of season or sobriety. So far, it’s working.
The venue got unexpected validation in October when Blue Jays playoff crowds flooded King Street West.
“The timing of the Blue Jays playoff run was remarkably fortunate for us,” Fisher said. “It gave us immediate exposure to our target demographic—people who came for the game atmosphere but left understanding our broader value proposition.”
Fisher described the period as “opening a can of worms in a very positive way.” The venue was packed during the final playoff games.
“It was a good way to introduce ourselves to people who maybe found us through the Jays but now understand more of what we’re doing,” he said. “When guests have a positive experience, they return to their workplaces and advocate for us as an event venue. That internal endorsement—having someone at the company vouch for your space—is far more effective than any traditional sales approach.”
The venue employs sales staff to pursue corporate bookings, but Fisher is clear about what drives conversions. Corporate holiday parties now represent a massive part of the revenue mix.
“We are such a winter destination place,” Fisher said. “We don’t have a patio, SPIN is in a basement, OCHE has blinds or curtains that you can’t see in or out. So the wintertime, when you overlay the fact that that’s when people are booking their Christmas parties or their holiday parties—winter is our main course for us.”
It’s a complete reversal of the typical Toronto hospitality calendar.
“You want to be outside, you want to be on a patio, and you can’t really be something you’re not,” he said. “We’re just not a patio venue. So we have to govern ourselves accordingly and understand that we’ve got to try to hit people in maybe a different angle, which is like, hey, we’ve got AC, escape the summer heat, that kind of thing.”
But in winter, when people go online looking for things to do, Fisher said they’re open to many different options. “They’re searching for things to do. And they’re kind of open to many different things. The summer is, you know, you want to be outside.”
The first six months have been about understanding how customers want to use the space.
“We started a brunch program, but it was much more about getting groups to come in and watch Premier League soccer on Saturdays and Sundays,” Fisher explained. “Because we know that for people to come and sit down and have Benedict, there’s so many places that are known for brunch, for doing that food program first and leading with that, that it didn’t really make sense for us to do a specific brunch program with the style of food that doesn’t really fit the space or the activity.”
The pivot wasn’t about changing food identity but adjusting service style. “We’ve gone that way and now changed direction and said, okay, let’s not bother too much with changing the food identity or the food items, but let’s play around with the sizing or the scale of the items,” Fisher said. “Do you switch from a burger and fries to sliders and a complement of a series of sides, so it’s much more shareable.”
The changes reflect six months of learning. “I don’t want to say searching for identity, because we’re not searching, we are near the end of the road of that,” he said. “We’re in the adjust phase, not so much the test, and we’re not so much in the item specific, we’re much more in the high level engagement with people in the menu.”
OCHE is also addressing what every bar operator faces. At opening, Fisher positioned OCHE as an answer to changing consumption habits. Six months in, that positioning is proving correct.
“For good reason, people are kind of not drinking as much,” Fisher said. “And I think the whole hospitality industry, not even just locally, but globally is going to have to wrestle with that reality, especially because alcohol is such a great margin item to sell.”
“We have both the products to offer people and we’re continuing to look at our menu and bring on good stuff for people who don’t drink, but also focus on the fact that you can come to OCHE, you can come to SPIN and you don’t have to drink because you’ve got this other thing to do,” Fisher said.
“You can play the game without having to sit at the bar and pretend to like your mocktail,” he said. “We’re still a bar, but a bar can be a place that you can feel at ease not drinking alcohol. And it helps, especially if you can then go and play a game or be with friends and socialize around an activity rather than just stand and watch people getting drunk around you.”
Fisher added that this trend will shape the company’s direction. “You will see from our company as a whole going forward maybe leaning into a little bit more of that. I don’t want to say health and wellness space because that would be dramatic, but definitely we’re still a bar, but a bar can be a place that you can feel at ease not drinking alcohol.”
“We opened SPIN in 2011, if you can think about it. Instagram wasn’t even around,” Fisher said. “So you’re relying on old school PR or the first sort of run of online publications, BlogTO was huge for us because everyone was awake to this new thing.”
“I think now things are moving so quickly in terms of how you market yourself. The influencer stuff is certainly kind of top of the list,” Fisher said. “You have to be very careful with that too, because you want the right people, the right vibe. They are almost like a brand on their own now. And you want to make sure you’re partnering with the right brand for your brand, which I think they’re very well aware of.”
The challenge is cutting through noise. “It’s become almost more difficult in how much easier it is, if that makes sense,” Fisher said. “The technology is so good. At the same time, there’s so much more noise.”
His approach: focus on the core audience. “We try to really get an idea of who our core audience is and try to talk to them specifically about the things that we know interest them rather than—I think it’s more grassroots in a way for us. Because if you get caught up in the noise, almost like no one pays attention to you.”
Fisher joked about keeping up with trends. “It’s very, very complicated for a 47-year-old guy who’s Gen X trying to kind of keep up with all the trends. And then as you catch up, the trends are now different.”
When we spoke to Fisher at opening, he discussed plans for multiple Canadian locations over five to six years. Six months in, that interest continues.
“The brokers are certainly reaching out. I think people like the story. They like the concept,” Fisher said. “I would love to package SPIN and OCHE and go into a much bigger space somewhere. So I’m taking all calls. I’m doing site visits.”
But he’s clear about the timeline. “There’s nothing in the works that I would say, hey, stay tuned for this time next year.”
“We know that brands are coming up from the US or elsewhere, but predominantly from the US that are going to push us and challenge us,” he said. “So the faster we can get our feet underneath us and make the business kind of get it where it needs to be that we can talk about growth, the better it is for both of the concepts we have.”
Six months in, the positioning is clear. OCHE King West has proven that destination hospitality can work even as traditional bar economics struggle. The corporate events pipeline looks strong heading into 2026. The operational adjustments—from menu changes to marketing strategy—suggest the experimental phase is over.
For King Street West, still dealing with construction disruption from nearby developments and the broader challenges facing Toronto hospitality, OCHE represents a different approach: design for winter first, build around activities that work whether people are drinking or not, and let organic word-of-mouth drive growth over traditional sales.
The model works because it solves problems rather than fighting trends. People drinking less? Give them another reason to visit. No patio? Make winter your peak season. Hard to stand out in a crowded market? Create an experience people want to tell their colleagues about.
Six months is early, but the results suggest Fisher’s destination model isn’t just surviving—it’s thriving in conditions where traditional bars would struggle. That’s the real story here: not just that OCHE King West is doing well, but that it’s doing well precisely because it’s not a traditional bar.
Dustin Fuhs is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of 6ix Retail, Toronto’s premier source for retail and hospitality industry news. As the former Editor-in-Chief of Retail Insider, Canada’s most-read retail trade publication, Dustin brings over two decades of expertise spanning retail, marketing, entertainment and hospitality sectors. His experience includes leadership roles with industry giants such as The Walt Disney Company, The Hockey Hall of Fame, Starbucks and Blockbuster.
Recognized as a RETHINK Retail Top Retail Expert in 2024 and 2025, Dustin delivers insider perspectives on Toronto’s evolving retail landscape, from emerging brands to established players reshaping the city’s commercial districts.