Toronto Ryerson's Mattamy Athletics Centre + Loblaws at the Gardens | ?m | ?s | Ryerson University | Turner Fleischer

Seeing the nascent Bulk Barn, I don't see what people are so worked up about--look, Yonge & College has long been a node for proletarian shopping, Woolie's and Kresge were once here, Winners and Dollarama now are, etc. Perfect place to grab a bag of bulk pretzel sticks before going down into the subway. And what's so crass about the aesthetic? It's the Don Watt template, after all...
 
Visited Loblaws last night. Astonishing. Astounding. Spectacular. A quantum leap forward for downtown Toronto. Montrealers must be squirming given the ignominious fate of the Forum.
 
I went past it Friday evening at around rush hour - I think the place will probably change pedestrian patterns for the neighbourhood significantly. Do have to say the corner entrance is a bit underwhelming and might be a bit too small to accommodate the high traffic though.

AoD
 
The Queen & Portland store, which opened yesterday, is the same design as the MLG store. Looks promising for overall Loblaws urban store design.
 
I finally visited. It is really nice, and it kind of reminds me of the market in Grand Central Station in NYC. I hope that the crowds eventually go away because it does seem like a place that I might go to grab the odd thing, but if it stays as is I doubt I'll ever shop there.
 
If it remains this popular I hope that they consider expanding to 24 hour operations like the nearby Metro stores at College Park, The Merchandise Building on Gould St. & Market Square.
 
dt_toronto_geek said:
If it remains this popular I hope that they consider expanding to 24 hour operations like the nearby Metro stores at College Park, The Merchandise Building on Gould St. & Market Square.
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Heard from a friend of mine that has some connections with Loblaws, that they are staying away from new 24hr store locations in dense homeless areas due to many problems during the night. Queen and Portland is another new store that will be closing at 11pm... Too bad, i say hire more staff and security guards and stay open all night.
 
Automation Gallery said:
Heard from a friend of mine that has some connections with Loblaws, that they are staying away from new 24hr store locations in dense homeless areas due to many problems during the night. Queen and Portland is another new store that will be closing at 11pm... Too bad, i say hire more staff and security guards and stay open all night.
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Too bad. Presumably they need staff and management at night to supervise night staff, accept deliveries and restock shelves, so they would only need to add a couple of cashiers and a security guard.
 
argg ... tried to check it out today (i.e. Sunday) around 2pm, there were police outside and they told us it was too crowded and to start forming a line :)

Just left ...

I'm sure the hype will die down after a week, but I still expect it to be busy.
 
So...

Had a chance to check out the store today.

My highlights/notes

1) Best Feature to me, had to be the wild mushrooms display, they had McEwan beat, and even Harvest Wagon. They not only had fresh Chantarelles, but also Wood Ear and Pine and Maitake and Cauliflower mushrooms. All lose (you need understand, these go for up $75.00 per kg....I think that's rather gutsy....but I like it.

2) The cupcake selection appears excellent, though the lines were just too long to be bothered trying them today.

3) The pizza looks quite interesting (in-store made from scratch w/some fairly high end topping choices (Fior di Latte etc. etc.)

4) They have kits to bake your own Ace Breads at home.

5) They have Wagyu Beef....

6) SanMarzano Tomatoes (jar only)

******

Things they didn't have, that I thought they should have.....Fresh Duck, quail eggs, artisinal bacons
 
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