Toronto 1061 The Queensway | 12m | 1s | Sobeys | METHOD Architects

[Tim MacDonald]

Construction has begun as seen in this December 15th photo..

 

[Amare]

Construction has begun as seen in this December 15th photo..
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In a way, i'm pretty sad so see this go ahead since it pretty much spells the end to the Kipling and Queensway Sobeys. Which is located in a far more convenient location for someone using transit, compared to this.

That and the fact it would be another Sobeys store gone in Toronto, in favor for a Longos. Between the two, i'd much rather take a Sobeys.

 

[Vminkov]

In a way, i'm pretty sad so see this go ahead since it pretty much spells the end to the Kipling and Queensway Sobeys. Which is located in a far more convenient location for someone using transit, compared to this.

That and the fact it would be another Sobeys store gone in Toronto, in favor for a Longos. Between the two, i'd much rather take a Sobeys.

Selfishly I'm cheering the arrival of the Longo's because Sobey's aint cheap anyhow and the only grocery stores in the broader area are a bunch of no frills locations and sobeys. Maybe it's my nostalgia talking because I spent so much of my childhood at the "Longo's Plaza" at York Mills/Leslie with mom lol

 

[Northern Light]

That and the fact it would be another Sobeys store gone in Toronto, in favor for a Longos. Between the two, i'd much rather take a Sobeys.

Its not the grocery thread, but this still requires elaboration! The reason Empire is flipping Sobeys to other banners is that other people are voting by not shopping at Sobey's.

Some of that is under-invested in older locations.........but some of it is just not getting the right mix of product/service/style/price for the Toronto customer.

Sobey's isn't a discounter and not much cheaper than Longo's......... what do you prefer them? Just curious.

 

[Amare]

Its not the grocery thread, but this still requires elaboration! The reason Empire is flipping Sobeys to other banners is that other people are voting by not shopping at Sobey's.

Some of that is under-invested in older locations.........but some of it is just not getting the right mix of product/service/style/price for the Toronto customer.

Sobey's isn't a discounter and not much cheaper than Longo's......... what do you prefer them? Just curious.

Personally I dont really care for Longo's prepped food sections and kitchen which many people are huge fans of, which is a big part of the Longo's allure and which is what's made it an increasingly popular store. That combined with their frozen prepped food options of course.

When Empire actually invests in their Sobey's stores (ie: Sobey's Urban Fresh at Islington/Bloor and Sobey's at Queensway/Park Lawn) their offerings are on par/better than a standard Metro. As you mentioned, Empire has been underinvesting in the Sobey's brand for years now and the decisions they've made with that brand have been odd. For instance they invested millions in moderninzing the Queensway/Park Lawn store recently and planned on using that as a flagship model to roll out to other stores...then went on to abandon the roll out in Ontario. Then they hammer us with Farm Boy's (overpriced and overated) to replace the Urban Fresh concept.

But back to Longo's, personally i'm not interested in paying the price premium that Longos charges just to support their kitchen and prepped food offerings. Give me a grocery store that has a good array of products for a better price.

One can argue of course that Longo's has a better product array, but I attribute a lot of that to those frozen prepped food offerings.

Anyways i'm getting a bit sidetracked but I think the brand discussion is appropriate for this thread nevertheless, they are building a Longo's here after all.

 

[Towered]

Personally I dont really care for Longo's prepped food sections and kitchen which many people are huge fans of, which is a big part of the Longo's allure and which is what's made it an increasingly popular store. That combined with their frozen prepped food options of course.

When Empire actually invests in their Sobey's stores (ie: Sobey's Urban Fresh at Islington/Bloor and Sobey's at Queensway/Park Lawn) their offerings are on par/better than a standard Metro. As you mentioned, Empire has been underinvesting in the Sobey's brand for years now and the decisions they've made with that brand have been odd. For instance they invested millions in moderninzing the Queensway/Park Lawn store recently and planned on using that as a flagship model to roll out to other stores...then went on to abandon the roll out in Ontario. Then they hammer us with Farm Boy's (overpriced and overated) to replace the Urban Fresh concept.

But back to Longo's, personally i'm not interested in paying the price premium that Longos charges just to support their kitchen and prepped food offerings. Give me a grocery store that has a good array of products for a better price.

One can argue of course that Longo's has a better product array, but I attribute a lot of that to those frozen prepped food offerings.

Anyways i'm getting a bit sidetracked but I think the brand discussion is appropriate for this thread nevertheless, they are building a Longo's here after all.

Longo's hot counter blows away Metro.

 

[torontowest91]

so its confirmed the sobeys will close once the longos opens?

 

[Amare]

so its confirmed the sobeys will close once the longos opens?

Not confirmed, but it's pretty much spelled out.

Having 2 major grocers owned by the same company, targeting virtually similar market demographics, within a ~400m radius of each other makes virtually no sense.