Stabbed bartender dies

August 20, 2004
By GABRIELLE GIRODAY
With a report from Katherine Harding

An altercation that left the bartender of the Jupiter Sports Bar and Café stabbed to death could have been caused by memberships in the bar that he was selling in an effort to get around the city's smoking ban, grieving employees said yesterday.

Forty-nine-year-old Jayantha Peiris died at Sunnybrook Hospital of stab wounds after a dispute with three young patrons at about 11:30 Wednesday night. No arrests have been made.

The tiny, bespectacled man who ran the bar at Jane Street and Lawrence Avenue worked with his partner, Linda Karunarathna, to develop a respectable establishment in a crime-ridden strip mall.

Mr. Peiris, who had one child, had recently recreated Jupiter, not only with renovations to encourage restaurant traffic during the day, but changing it on July 1 to a private club so patrons could smoke.

Memberships cost $5. Employees said Mr. Peiris was often the sole front-of-the-house staff member to enforce the card rule.

Bylaw enforcement officers policing Toronto's tough new smoking bylaw were unaware that the restaurant was illegally allowing patrons to smoke under the guise of operating as a private club, a public-health spokeswoman said.

The city has had problems with the Jupiter. On July 12, inspectors charged the bar with breaking a smoking bylaw.

Employees spoke fondly of Mr. Peiris.

"Jay didn't even drink, and he was a really good guy," Garry Aphan, a former employee, said. "When I did not have any money, he would let me work in the kitchen and wash dishes for food."

Friend Mark Snary said Mr. Peiris had great business skills. "When he bought the building, he wanted to make it a comfortable place where everyone could hang out, so he put in big screens and pool tables and played variety music.