John Sleeman and Mill St. Brewery feud over distillery

The Distillery District in Toronto is a great spot. Lot's of shops, places to eat, places to drink, and overall, and really cool part of town. It's also a popular tourist spot for those visiting Toronto, and so it's no wonder that Sleeman Breweries Ltd., now a wholly-owned sub of Japan's mega-producer Sapporo since 2006, has set it's sights on the area.

Mill Street Brewery co-founder Steve Abrams says the area used to be friendly between businesses, but has since lost that neighbourhood feel. What sparked the initial friction between John Sleeman and his Guelph-Ontario brewery and the locals of Mill St. was a huge Sleeman banner promoting Summerfest, that the landlords of the distillery district, Cityscape Development Corp, had hung over the Mill St. Patio. Summerfest is an event that hosts the largest patio in Canada, and has sold exclusivity to Sleeman for the event. More on the dust up between Mill St. and Sleeman.

In a separate matter, Sleeman has also filed a lawsuit against Mill St., alleging that they poached a sales director who subsequently leaked 'Sleeman Secrets'.