In the Demaras Racing achieves are some old car magazines including Road & Track issues from December 1967 and March 1973. Flipping through the pages published more than 50 years ago is an eye opener. Car culture has changed, attitudes have changed and styles once so common seem so foreign.
During a recent race weekend at Mosport, more retro ‘race programs’ from the 1970s were acquired. The glossy magazines had pictures of old race cars, young ‘birds’ in bikinis, and ads for local speed shops in Toronto. The addresses of one hot rod shop indicated it was located across the street from Demaras Racing’s world headquarters. Sadly, today it’s just a pizza parlour.
Another ad that jumped off the page was Dino’s Garage at 1250 Dupont St in downtown Toronto. They seemed like a consistent advertiser in race programs, so their customers must have been gearheads. A search on the web explained that the shop was established in 1960 as a FIAT dealership, and remained open until 1989 providing service to vintage Italian cars years after FIAT abandoned the Canadian market. Brothers John and Alex (Dino’s kids?) changed the name of the shop to Daytona Auto Centre and turned it into an exotic car dealer. The old place on Dupont St didn’t do the exotics justice, so the shop was relocated to the Toronto suburb of Woodbridge where today the Daytona building looks like a glass jewelry box filled with Italian gems.
The old shop didn’t fall victim to the gentrification of the west end. In July 2024 a new business moved into the historic building, throwing open the garage doors to the Three Horses Café and Speed Shop. Hailed as a coffee spot for motoring enthusiasts Three Horses has built a solid community around the shop.
The 1,700 sq. ft building features a large garage door open to the street, and once inside, a large coffee counter on the left side. The spot is an mix of several affiliated businesses. The back half of the building is a vintage clothing store; anyone looking for a retro motorcycle jacket or vintage cowboy boots are encouraged to sift through the inventory. Mixed in are hats and shirts with Three Horses shop branding looking like motorcycle wear.
Several racing helmets and motorcycles are on display, and shop owners Tyler Wyles, Tyler Power, and Nick Pilon proudly explain that the bikes are their own personal builds. A collection of vintage motorcycle memorabilia and scale models from the 1970s sit on the upper shelves helping give Three Horses a sense of history.
That’s what’s most remarkable about the café. Rather than hiding the automotive history of the building’s architecture, they’ve embedded into it. Exposed wooden beams, concrete floors, and glass-paneled garage doors don’t hide that this was a mechanic shop for half a century. But the café has a very open vibe and has created an accessible and welcoming view of motorcycle and car culture. The shop is rooted in heritage, history and creativity with a focus on crafting coffee with the same commitment. Three Horses serves coffee from Back Road Coffee Roasters, a company committed to ethical and sustainable farming practices.
Beyond coffee, the shop brings the community together through bike nights, classic car meet-ups, plus screenings of films related to car culture. It’s become a go-to spot for not only those who love cars and coffee.
Three Horses looks like a cool place. So how quickly do the cops show up to break things up and send people home?
Three Horses is a totally cool spot! I went to a hot rod meet there a couple days ago … and the police didn’t show up at all! Live band, cars parked on both sides of the street, and pissed off joggers being blocked by greasers and bikers hanging out on the sidewalk. No police at all. I think when you own a spot, and it’s private property, the cops seem to leave everyone alone.
Great meet up: https://youtu.be/5D1WkhTOCgE?si=W4JVk_Udj9PUsxJD
Any place that uses vice grips for a beer tap handle has to be good. How’s the Back Road Coffee?
TBH we haven’t opened the bag yet. But at the shop the espresso was ‘perfecto’.
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I really like that you can still tell Three Horses is the old Dino’s Garage. No hiding the automotive roots, hence the vice grips and such.