Downtown Grocery Stores

[Denscity]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

It's funny how you had a problem with my list but were praising the Downtown Peninsula of Vancouver, which is 50% larger in area (6 km2 not including Stanley) Homerism for the win! I even provided a map for christ sake! lmao gotta love it.




This is what I love about Van, can barely walk five blocks without tripping over a small unique grocery store in much of the city, even outside of the downtown peninsula.

I was just going by the fact that "Downtown" takes up just a small part of your overall map.

[speedog]

A Superstore was opened in the past year on the second floor of a condominium building in the east side of what I consider to be Calgary's downtown - while it's not as large as most regular Superstore locations in Calgary it has brought a very welcome grocer experience to the downtown core and being very close to a light rail stop makes it quite convenient for many downtown residents.

I'll even use this location occasionally as it is convenient to have a centrally located Superstore as opposed to having to drive to a more outlying location when I happen to be in or near the core.

[Kilgore Trout]

Montreal has never had a shortage of downtown grocery stores but there are some holes. There is still no full-service supermarket in Old Montreal, although an IGA will soon open on the western edge of the area, and there will likely be something opening in a new development the eastern edge. There's also no real supermarket in the very heart of the downtown area.

Here's a map – blue for full-service supermarkets, which have full meat/fish/veg selections along with dry goods and at least some toiletries and household items. Red is for small-format or specialty grocery stores. Dépanneurs (convenience stores) are not included even though a handful are quite large and almost edging into supermarket territory.



Full service

1. 5 Saisons Greene
2. IGA Alexis-Nihon
3. Adonis Ste-Catherine
4. PA du Fort
5. Marché Newon
6. Provigo Avenue des Canadiens
7. Métro Plus ÉTS
8. Adonis Griffintown
9. IGA Complexe Desjardins
10. Provigo Avenue du Parc
11. Métro La Cité
12. IGA Place Dupuis
13. Super C Marché St-Jacques

[vid]

Originally Posted by SteelTown

Some pictures of Nations Fresh Foods at Jackson Square













Source: Raisethehammer
http://raisethehammer.org/article/18...ns_fresh_foods

I actually really liked this store, I wish there were more of them across the province.

[DavefromSt.Vital]

Nations in Jackson Square has made a huge difference for downtown Hamilton. I often get takeaway from there when staying at the Sheraton.

[esquire]

Nations reminds me of the grocery store closest to every airbnb I've ever stayed at in Europe. Love it.

Also re: Calgary - if there's a downtown Superstore, then that's the holy grail IMO. No one can complain about a food desert when there's a Superstore literally downtown.

For what it's worth I think supermarkets very close to downtown areas are still relevant to downtown residents. I mean, the Osborne Village Safeway is across the river from "Downtown Winnipeg" as it is defined in local bylaws, but when I lived downtown it was my local grocery store as it was only a 10 minute walk away.

[SignalHillHiker]

Wrong thread lol

[dreambrother808]

Originally Posted by esquire

For what it's worth I think supermarkets very close to downtown areas are still relevant to downtown residents. I mean, the Osborne Village Safeway is across the river from "Downtown Winnipeg" as it is defined in local bylaws, but when I lived downtown it was my local grocery store as it was only a 10 minute walk away.

Yes, cross the Cambie Bridge from Yaletown and you've immediately got a full-size Whole Foods (rather than the truncated one on Robson) and a Save-On. I'm sure they're used by lots of dt folk, walking across the bridge, taking the Canada Line, or driving.

[Kilgore Trout]

Canadian cities are generally well served by supermarkets, unlike a lot of US cities that have huge food deserts without anything but dollar stores and drug stores.

[matt602]

Although Nations made a huge difference in downtown Hamilton when it opened, I do feel like another chain based urban grocery store would be nice to see. There is a No Frills, Food basics and Fortinos located almost equidistant from the core of downtown (about a km or so each) but I wouldn't consider any of them to be walkable given Hamilton's hostile one-way streets that you need to cross or walk along to access any one of them. On the whole I guess we're doing better than most similarly or smaller sized cities, though.

[CityTech]

Simply having a downtown grocery store isn't always enough - often these stores will cater to suburban lifestyles despite their location.

In the Westboro neighborhood of Ottawa, there's a grocery store right in the urban core of the neighborhood. But when you walk in, there's no hand baskets, usually no small carts (only big carts), everything is sold in bulk sizes, and the layout is designed so it's a huge pain to just walk in to buy one thing. It's designed for suburban people who drive to the store and do big grocery trips once a month, not urban residents who walk to the store and make frequent small trips.

By contrast, the Sobeys (now Farm Boy) on Metcalfe Street in central Ottawa is different: lots of hand carts and small shopping carts available, a square layout where there's shortcuts between every section, and items sold in smaller sizes. Clearly designed for urban walk up shoppers.

[Andy6]

Originally Posted by CityTech

Simply having a downtown grocery store isn't always enough - often these stores will cater to suburban lifestyles despite their location.

In the Westboro neighborhood of Ottawa, there's a grocery store right in the urban core of the neighborhood. But when you walk in, there's no hand baskets, usually no small carts (only big carts), everything is sold in bulk sizes, and the layout is designed so it's a huge pain to just walk in to buy one thing. It's designed for suburban people who drive to the store and do big grocery trips once a month, not urban residents who walk to the store and make frequent small trips.

Why can't the urban people just use a big cart if that's all there is? Because someone might shame them on twitter?

[Kilgore Trout]

Originally Posted by CityTech

Simply having a downtown grocery store isn't always enough - often these stores will cater to suburban lifestyles despite their location.

That's a good point. It's one thing to have a suburban-style supermarket near downtown and quite another to have a bunch of supermarkets that are smaller but more geared towards urban lifestyles. Many people who live in dense areas tend to walk or bike to get their groceries several times a week, so they don't necessarily need a one-stop-shop kind of megastore.

Just for example, here in Montreal I have five small or medium-sized supermarkets within a 10 minute walk of my apartment, with a big-box style supermarket about 15 minutes away. There's also a half-dozen small food stores like fishmongers, butchers, greengrocers and other specialty shops. I almost never go to the big-box store because all the small and medium-sized stores meet my needs pretty well.

I really noticed the difference when I stayed with my friends who live in Toronto near Lansdowne subway. It's a pretty dense area, not all that different to where I live in Montreal, but there are no small greengrocers nearby. The only choices for groceries within a 15 minute walk are suburban-style Sobeys, FreshCo, Loblaws and Wal-Mart, all of which have big parking lots and aren't very pedestrian-friendly.

[CityTech]

Originally Posted by Andy6

Why can't the urban people just use a big cart if that's all there is? Because someone might shame them on twitter?

Because it's annoying to have to use a big honking cart if you're just buying 4-5 things, which is what urban shoppers do. Hand carts are way more convenient.

It is a small annoyance I agree - but it's reflective of a whole mentality that makes it harder for urban people to get access to food.

[isaidso]

I have good food options. I live in downtown Toronto and have 11 large format grocery stores (Loblaws, Bloor Street Market, Metro, Farm Boy, No Frills, Food Basics, FreshCo, Longo's) within a 15 minute walk from home + Eataly + McEwan. On top of that I have a ton of small grocery stores (Rabba, Kitchen Table, Pusateri), tons of fruit & veg stands (independents), tons of convenience stores (7-Eleven, Circle K, Hasty Market, independents), and about 10 large format pharmacies (Shoppers or Rexall).

[ssiguy]

Originally Posted by Kilgore Trout

Canadian cities are generally well served by supermarkets, unlike a lot of US cities that have huge food deserts without anything but dollar stores and drug stores.

That's very true. Food Deserts are generally an American phenomenon brought about by downtown depopulation, poor transit, high crime, urban decay, and inner city poverty. What many Canadian cities do suffer from however, is what is referred to as Food Mirages.

Basically we have downtown/inner city grocery stores but not truly affordable ones. We have a plethora of inner city stores that sell speciality and imported everything, half the stuff is organic and/or very high end product, and the stores are geared to the well off urban professionals. The BMW dealers of the grocery store world but of course most people can't afford a BMW.

[rbt]

Originally Posted by Andy6

Why can't the urban people just use a big cart if that's all there is? Because someone might shame them on twitter?

I strongly prefer a basket because then I know the combined weight before paying for it. There is a limit to how much I want to walk home with in a single trip.

When I use a cart I actually purchase quite a bit less to ensure I'm below the cap.

[SpongeG]

Originally Posted by esquire

Nations reminds me of the grocery store closest to every airbnb I've ever stayed at in Europe. Love it.

Also re: Calgary - if there's a downtown Superstore, then that's the holy grail IMO. No one can complain about a food desert when there's a Superstore literally downtown.

For what it's worth I think supermarkets very close to downtown areas are still relevant to downtown residents. I mean, the Osborne Village Safeway is across the river from "Downtown Winnipeg" as it is defined in local bylaws, but when I lived downtown it was my local grocery store as it was only a 10 minute walk away.

I was thinking it reminds me of the Coles and Woolworths I saw in downtown Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, in Australia, most were basement level, smaller than their suburban stores but handy and everywhere and usually connected to the trains. Very handy. Canada could take some notes.

[someone123]

Originally Posted by ssiguy

Basically we have downtown/inner city grocery stores but not truly affordable ones. We have a plethora of inner city stores that sell speciality and imported everything, half the stuff is organic and/or very high end product, and the stores are geared to the well off urban professionals. The BMW dealers of the grocery store world but of course most people can't afford a BMW.

Not sure I agree with this although it's unclear what cities you're talking about since Canada has only a few with any significant concentration of high-end stores. Vancouver has some central No Frills locations which are pretty low end and then a downtown Costco (plus a bunch of cheap produce and small grocery stores that may be even more affordable). It's not all Whole Foods. Toronto has some fairly normal Loblaws locations downtown plus lots of cheap smaller places.

In fact it's a bit surprising to me how many expensive urban neighbourhoods in Canada still have cheap grocery stores. Vancouver has neighbourhoods where the median house costs $2M+ and the median grocery store serves roughly the same market segment as Wal-Mart.

[ssiguy]

I agree that Vancouver is well served with inner city grocery stores as are Toronto and Montreal. They have the population base to support them. The problem tends to be more acute in our smaller and mid-size cities that don't have the population base to support a major and general grocery store.

Instead they tend specialty stores and smaller organic and niche markets. These can be very vibrant and interesting centres but do not provide the AFFORDABLE groceries and household items most people depend upon.