Paint Cabin just opened its biggest location yet in Scotia Plaza, and it’s a game-changer for downtown Toronto entertainment. The 4,000-square-foot space can fit 150 people and sits right at 40 King St. W. — basically the perfect spot for anyone working in the financial district who wants to try something different after work.
This isn’t just another paint-and-sip place. Paint Cabin has been around for almost 10 years, and they’ve figured out how to make creativity fun for everyone, even if you can’t draw a stick figure.
“We want people to be more than just a ‘hi, how are you?'” says Anita Leung, who co-owns Paint Cabin. “We want the ‘how are your children? How was your vacation?’ We want to bring back pre-pandemic normal conversations — to be human, to know what it’s like to laugh in person, to be able to enjoy each other naturally versus sending emails every day.”
The move downtown wasn’t random. Commercial brokers saw what Paint Cabin was doing at their Liberty Village location and thought it would work perfectly for the corporate crowd.
“There are so many different financial firms, law firms, accounting firms and many other businesses here that make it easier to bring everyone to Paint Cabin versus having them take Ubers or buses,” Anita explains. The location is literally one minute from King Station and six minutes from Union Station.
Plus, with companies bringing people back to the office more often, they’re looking for new ways to get teams together. “People are slowly coming back into the office full-time or more hybrid — four days a week,” Anita says. “So it allows them to create activities and events to connect together.”
The Scotia Plaza location is set up to handle full-day corporate events, with AV equipment for presentations and catering options. Companies can run morning meetings using the video walls and microphones, then transition the same space into creative workshops later in the day. It’s designed to eliminate the usual hassle of coordinating multiple venues for different parts of an event.
What Makes Paint Cabin Different
Here’s what sets Paint Cabin apart: you don’t all paint the same boring sunset. Everyone picks their own image and gets help from art students and graduates who actually know what they’re doing.
“Everyone gets to choose their own image, which allows them to be more natural and organic,” Anita says. “Everything is customizable, everything is personalized. So people get to take home a piece that they want versus having everyone paint the same cherry blossom tree. What are you going to do with that?”
They offer way more than just painting too. You can make vintage wood signs, try printmaking, do needle felting, string art, or paint canvas tote bags. And yes, there’s a full bar with wine, beer, cocktails, and mocktails.
“Sometimes guests say, ‘I’m going to drink all night.’ But realistically, they’re only on their second beer and they’re having a good time,” Anita notes. “The beer is there, the alcohol is there, but the creative activities are also here for you.”
The whole point is to make it not intimidating. “We want to bring the ease of being creative with less intimidation,” she says. “Nobody needs to be artsy, nobody needs to be creative. That’s not a big deal to us. That’s every customer’s fear.”
Paint Cabin was co-founded in 2015 at 723 Gerrard St. E., creating Toronto’s first paint bar. The idea was simple: give people a place to unplug, have drinks, and get creative together. They spent two years at Liberty Village’s Light Factory before landing at Scotia Plaza for their 10th anniversary.
The growth has been totally organic. “Every client that has been coming in — everything is naturally organic referrals,” Anita says. “Those are our favourites because to me, that means you had a great time and you referred someone.”
She gets genuinely emotional talking about repeat customers: “Someone will come back and say, ‘Hey, we were here five weeks ago,’ and it melts my heart knowing that you have had the experience and you’re sharing it again with someone. That means we did our job. We created a fun space for you.”
Beyond Corporate Events
While Paint Cabin is perfect for team building, they’re also trying to fill a gap in the PATH during evenings and weekends. They’re open Thursday through Sunday, with weekend hours from 1 to 9 p.m.
“It’s not about booking right now — it’s about planting the seed,” Anita explains. “Maybe someone’s thinking, ‘It’s snowing outside and there’s nowhere to go, we don’t want to be anywhere.’ They can come and have a drink if they want; they don’t have to paint.”
The location works for tourists too. “Sometimes when they get in here, they also see different activities like tote bags or vintage wood signs, printmaking or textured art,” she says. “It’s something to keep them busy until their next destination or if their hotel room isn’t ready and they just need to fill some time.”
Paint Cabin plans to stick around Scotia Plaza for at least five years, but they’re not ruling out more expansion. “The dream is always to grow bigger — that is always the dream,” Anita says.
For now, though, they’re focused on what they do best: getting people to smile, laugh, and try something new. “We are not in the business of making you artists,” she says. “But it’s seeing people smile, seeing people laugh, seeing people doing something they don’t do on a day-to-day basis.”
Anita thinks this matters more now than ever. “Everyone’s thinking about well-being, health and wellness, and this kind of falls into a little combination of both.”
Paint Cabin officially opened at Scotia Plaza on Nov. 19. You can book events or drop-in sessions at paintcabin.com.
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.