In September 1986, The Colborne Architectural Group was approached by Lime Rickey's Restaurants Inc. to design their flagship restaurant in mid-town Toronto. The site chosen was on a busy intersection on Eglinton Avenue east where an existing building was extensively altered and new additions made to the rear to fill out the long, narrow site. The restaurant concept centred around an updated version of the traditional 1930 - 40's 'American Diner'. 14-21 year olds were targeted as the major clientele and hence the extensive menu of fast foods and soda fountain features.

Research was carried out into the diner aesthetic with new materials being sourced to create a more contemporary image for the 288-seat diner. The original linear 'rail car' form was retained for the exterior but the two-storey configuration of the interior brought about a new sense of scale and design opportunities for the usually intimate diner; the soda fountain and bar becomes a permanent feature of this space. Stainless steel fluted bus siding, bright painted aluminum window frames, high-glazed ceramic tile specially detailed lighting and bold neon signage elements combine fancifully and deliberately to catch the eye and create a lasting image for the restaurant chain. The Eglington Avenue Lime Rickey's was the first of four locations. Construction cost, 2.0M, 1988.