To everything there is a season, and right now, in the helter-swelter of a Toronto summer, Bob Sniderman is content to "just take a breather," tinker with what he has and leave whatever new challenges there may be to later.
Mr. Sniderman has just ended one of the more time-consuming chapters of his 56 years, namely the ownership and operation of Top o' the Senator. Mr. Sniderman, oldest son of the legendary Sam Sniderman, started the jazz nightclub in 1990, housing it in the narrow second-floor space of property he bought in 1984.
It quickly became the city's premier jazz venue, the place to hear out-of-town luminaries such as Bill Charlap, Branford Marsalis and James Moody and top-notch Canadians such as Renee Rosnes, Terry Clarke and P. J. Perry. But the club seemed to falter in recent years, and late last fall, Mr. Sniderman sold it, the room above it and the main-floor restaurant, Torch Bistro, to two Torontonians who are renaming it the Savoy.
"Running a club is a very demanding responsibility," Mr. Sniderman said from his office. "Every week, pretty much, you're putting on a different show and we did it, day in, day out, for 15 years." Like "an athlete or a coach at the end of the season . . . we just need to take a breather."
Mr. Sniderman doesn't rule out his future involvement in cultural events, including jazz performances, either at the Savoy, a new locale or at Massey Hall or the Winter Garden. "We may be able to license [the Senator name]for special events" at the Savoy, he said. "Before I looked at other opportunities, I'd talk to them [Savoy principals Dean Brown and Michael Sullivan] If there are some exciting events that we could do with them, that would be the priority."
Mr. Sniderman continues to own and operate the Senator restaurant next to the new Savoy. "Right now, it's all about sort of trying to improve what you have before starting anything new." He also continues as vice-president of Sam the Record Man, which, after restructuring in 2001, now consists of just two stores, the famous downtown location and an outlet in Halifax. He also has a minority stake in an upscale diner in Niagara Falls, Ont., called The Famous.
The Snidermans still own former Sam the Record Man properties in Vancouver and Montreal, which have been leased out, but there are no plans to restart those or open new retail operations elsewhere, he said.
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