One of the Hard Rock Cafe's signature T-shirts hangs in the window of its Toronto store. Kerzner has been hosting a weekly web series live from the lobby of the Toronto Hard Rock since last November. He's better known as the hand behind Ed the Sock, the cigar-chomping sock puppet that used to be a fixture on MuchMusic. Word of the closure caught Steven Kerzner off guard. The Hard Rock still operates dozens of restaurants worldwide, as well as casinos or hotels in the Caribbean, Singapore, China, Spain and in several locations in the U.S. That leaves behind just two Canadian locations: one in Niagara Falls, Ont., and the Hard Rock Casino in Coquitlam, B.C.

In a further email, she said there are 'no immediate plans' for a Toronto replacement. She confirmed the Toronto lease expires in May, but said in a statement the chain is still 'committed to a strong brand presence in Canada.' When CBC News called the Toronto location, it was referred to the company's corporate publicist. Hard Rock is keeping mum about its Canadian future.

'Canada seems to lose more cafes than get them.'

But they all shut down and haven't been replaced. There was even a second Toronto shop inside the Rogers Centre. Geraghty, who teaches at the University of Portsmouth in England, has watched as Hard Rocks in Canada have come and gone - Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Montreal, Kanata, Ont., Whistler, B.C., Banff, Alta., and downtown Vancouver all used to have Hard Rock Cafes. 'They pride themselves as a company of preserving music history or heritage,' he said. What does surprise him is why the chain would be shutting down its storied Toronto location - the second to open in Hard Rock's history - to make way for a Shoppers Drug Mart. That's no surprise coming from the self-professed Hard Rock scholar, who collects the restaurant's merchandise and has written academic articles about the chain and its rabid fans. When Lincoln Geraghty goes on holiday, he picks anywhere with a Hard Rock Cafe.

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