Editing Ed Mirvish (section)

==Theatres and restaurants==
[[File:Royal Alex Theatre, Toronto.jpg|thumb|left|187px|The [[Royal Alexandra Theatre]]]]
In addition to Honest Ed's, Mirvish was known in Toronto for his theatres and restaurants.<ref name=citynews>{{cite news | title=Emotional Crowds Say Goodbye To Ed Mirvish With Tears And Cheers | url=https://toronto.citynews.ca/2007/07/13/emotional-crowds-say-goodbye-to-ed-mirvish-with-tears-and-cheers/ | work=CityNews | date=July 13, 2007 | access-date=16 February 2009 | url-status=live | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070820020801/http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_12826.aspx | archive-date=August 20, 2007 }}</ref> His first purchase was the [[Royal Alexandra Theatre]], an Edwardian [[Beaux-Arts architecture|Beaux-Arts]] landmark building potentially slated for demolition. Mirvish purchased the building in 1963 and refurbished it, revitalizing the Toronto theatre scene.<ref>{{cite news|title=Honest Ed Gets Royal Alex – "Not Looking for a Profit"|work=[[Toronto Star|Toronto Daily Star]]|date=February 16, 1963|page=1}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | author=John Goddard | title=Honest tears shed for well-loved retailer| url=https://www.thestar.com/business/article/234978 | work=Toronto Star| date=July 12, 2007 | access-date=16 February 2009}}</ref>

To liven up the neighborhood and provide patrons with a place to go before and after performances, Mirvish bought and renovated a nearby warehouse building, which he turned into a restaurant. To cut costs, "Ed's Warehouse" at [[King Street (Toronto)|King Street West]] and Duncan Street served a set meal: prime rib, mashed potatoes and peas.<ref name=thestar/> Along the same street, Mirvish later opened Ed's Seafood (276 King Street West), Ed's Folly (268 King Street West), Ed's Chinese, Ed's Italian Restaurant and Old Ed's or Ed's Warehouse ([[Edwardian architecture|Edwardian style]] warehouse at 266 King Street West or also as Reid Building built 1904 by Alexander Frank Wickson for Featherbone Novelty Manufacturing Company),<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.torontojourney416.com/eds-warehouse/ | title=Ed's Warehouse - the Beloved Restaurant That Was an Attraction in Itself | date=May 15, 2021 }}</ref> which attracted local residents to the previously neglected King Street area and served 6,000 meals a night. As the neighbourhood became revitalized, many other restaurants opened nearby, often serving a wider range of foods than Ed's restaurants and achieving greater popularity; consequently, one by one, Ed's restaurants closed down. The last was Ed's Warehouse, which shut its doors in 2000.<ref name=thestar/>

In 1993 the Mirvishes built the [[Princess of Wales Theatre]], the largest new theatre&nbsp;– and first privately financed theatre&nbsp;– in North America in the span of thirty years. In 2001, Mirvish Enterprises signed a management contract to run the [[Canon Theatre|Pantages Theatre]], renamed the Canon Theatre, for [[Live Nation|Clear Channel Entertainment]] (now Live Nation), which had bought up the assets of the bankrupt theatre company, [[Livent]].<ref name=thestar/> The first show under the Mirvish banner was a touring production of ''[[Saturday Night Fever (musical)|Saturday Night Fever]]''.

He and his son David operated Mirvish Productions, which staged major touring theatre productions from Broadway and London and which produced and/or co-produced the Canadian stagings of such recent hits as ''[[The Lion King (musical)|The Lion King]]'', ''[[Mamma Mia! (musical)|Mamma Mia!]]'', ''[[The Producers (musical)|The Producers]]'' and ''[[Hairspray (musical)|Hairspray]]''.  In 1982 Ed and David Mirvish bought [[London]]'s [[Old Vic]] for £550,000&nbsp;[[Pound sterling|stg]] ([[Canadian dollar|Can$]]1.23&nbsp;million)<ref>{{cite news|title=Honest Ed buys Old Vic theatre|work=[[The Globe and Mail]]|date=June 24, 1982}}</ref> and spent four million dollars renovating it. Under their management, The Old Vic was celebrated for winning more awards for its productions than any other single theatre in Britain; It never made money, however, and they sold it to its present owners, a theatre trust, in 1998.  Ed Mirvish was made a [[Commander of the Order of the British Empire]] for saving the Old Vic.

On December 6, 2011 the [[Canon Theatre]] was renamed Ed Mirvish Theatre in his honour.