Canadian Retail Thread

[urbandreamer]

Believe it or not, I grew up eating Russian and Ukrainian food. My mother's neighbor was a Holodomor survivor who not only taught mom how to garden but also how to cook! All this talk of donuts has me craving pampushky, especially the savory kind, I can remember helping make them and how quickly I'd eat them. :)

And it was probably Russian Mennonites who brought this donut recipe to Ukraine.

[Wigs]

Yeah, I remembered St Kitts because my first college girlfriend was half Polish half Ukrainian from Thorold. Iirc her parents worked in a GMC engine plant...


Yes, St. Kitts/St. Catharines (Kitty short for Catharine(s) ) was the main place were Poles settled in Niagara. Thorold is basically a southern extension of St. Kitts, which itself is merging East into a blob with Niagara Falls, and a pocket joining Welland in the South. :D

Every community has a sizable Ukrainian diaspora. My Dad's best friend was full Ukrainian and the family moved to Canada during the Stalin regime in 1950.

Hell I have a St Kitts and Polish connection as well. And Shocking a GM engine plant connections. Lot of relatives still in the area. Parents met there. Family is Polish. And Had an Uncle that was an exec at the Engine plant, so we were able to tour the plant...

Going Back to St Kitts this summer and will be wondering around looking for family ghosts.

GM had two plants employing around 10,000 people at one time. Now only the newer powertrain facility exists on Glendale Ave, employing around 1,800 or so.
I had a neighbor and 2 friends whose fathers worked there.

Please spend time in Port Dalhousie and Lakeside Park and go to the beach and swim in Lake Ontario if it's a nice summer day. It can seem near perfect on a hot, sunny summer day.

Visit St. Joseph's bakery (deli/bakery) for your Polish/Eastern Euro food stuffs fix. If you want the taste of donuts like how Tim's was in the 1980s, visit Homestead Donuts.
St. Paul Street (the Main Street downtown) can be kinda sleepy during summer when the students from Brock University are not there, and there's no functions, events at the arena or performing arts centre, but there's some restaurants and pubs.

[urbandreamer]

This morning coming out of Lifelabs, I realized I was facing a wall of donuts: Krispy Kreme
https://imgur.com/a/qJDy73h
I went inside and the owners, South Asian, told me they opened last February. Perhaps they're the ones opening more locations?

Then I noticed a few new spots on the strip
Maryusa's by Janchenko's looks like a nice Kyiv-style brunch spot/restaurant
https://imgur.com/a/XhxIlYf
But $10 for kasha w/ mushrooms & bacon (I made this dish last week, probably cost me $1.50 including turkey bacon)?!
https://imgur.com/a/AzEI96n
And further east, Meaty Eats, a high end butcher shop
https://imgur.com/a/040p0Aa
Sleepy little Bloor West Village is becoming more sophisticated eh

[cslusarc]

Mobilesyrup.com (https://mobilesyrup.com/2024/01/18/bell-the-source-best-buy-express-rebrand-canada/) reports:


The Source stores across Canada to rebrand as ‘Best Buy Express’
More than half of The Source locations will be changed, while the remaining stores will be closed

Bradly Shankar
@bradshankar

Bell has signed a deal with Best Buy Canada to rebrand its The Source stores as ‘Best Buy Express’ locations.

Under the agreement, 165 of The Source’s stores will become Best Buy-branded in the second half of 2024. According to The Globe and Mail, The Source has around 300 locations across Canada, and those not included in this agreement will be closed.

The new Best Buy Express stores will sell general consumer electronics as well as Bell’s telecom services, including those from its Virgin Plus and Lucky Mobile brands. Per the arrangement, Bell will handle store operations and staffing, although employees will receive training from both companies. The Globe and Mail notes that a Bell spokesperson wouldn’t confirm an exact breakdown of the ownership structure of Best Buy Express between the two companies.

The Source began business in Canada way back in 1986 as the Canadian wing of U.S.-based RadioShack. However, it was rebranded as The Source by Circuit City in 2005 after RadioShack won an injunction that stopped the company from using that name. A few years later, the “by Circuit City” branding was dropped after parent company InterTAN filed for bankruptcy.

In 2009, Bell acquired The Source for an undisclosed sum, at which time the retailer had around 750 stores.

Throughout that time, Best Buy operated both its own stores and, following a 2001 acquisition, Future Shop locations. While Best Buy shuttered all of the Future Shop stores in 2015, it has continued to operate big-box Best Buy locations, as well as smaller Best Buy Mobile locations.

With the Bell partnership, Best Buy says it wants to leverage The Source locations to increase its presence in malls and small- to mid-sized communities.

[Djeffery]

We only have 3 Sources in London, one is in a mall with a Best Buy Mobile, with a full Best Buy across the road. Another is in a mall across from a full Best Buy. The other is well away from a Best Buy in a strip plaza. I'm assuming 1 of them goes away. Will be interesting to see which, if any, close.

Hopefully this is only a licensing thing and not an ownership stake by Best Buy. That chain seems to kill companies that are involved with it.

[SpongeG]

I always forget that the Source is an option or alternative to Best Buy. I don't think we have that many here.

[SpongeG]

Vera's Burger Shack expanding to Alberta with three new stores
New franchised restaurants in Calgary bring chain's number of locations to 13
By Glen Korstrom | January 18, 2024

https://biv.com/sites/default/files/styles/media_image/public/2024-01/verasburgershack-google.jpg?h=ce50bb31&itok=5QWmMLKZ

The Vancouver-based, 10-location Vera's Burger Shack has hatched a partnership with an investor who wants to own and operate three franchised locations in Calgary.

If all goes well, that operator may be sold rights to own the Calgary market, Vera's Burger Shack CEO Gerald Tritt told BIV this afternoon.

"We're going to walk before we can run," he said of the decision to not yet provide exclusive rights to the entire city of Calgary to the new partner.


Tritt said his company is also negotiating with potential franchisees in northern Alberta, and in Saskatchewan.

...

https://biv.com/article/2024/01/veras-burger-shack-expanding-alberta-three-new-stores

[zahav]

The burger market is more crowded now than when Vera's dominated Vancouver's local scene a couple decades ago. It's still good and not dead, but I don't find it as popular as years past when there was far less competition IMO. Opening only 3 locations is a very rational move, they aren't trying a massive expansion that would be more likely to fail and hurt their BC operations as a result.

[Loco101]

We only have 3 Sources in London, one is in a mall with a Best Buy Mobile, with a full Best Buy across the road. Another is in a mall across from a full Best Buy. The other is well away from a Best Buy in a strip plaza. I'm assuming 1 of them goes away. Will be interesting to see which, if any, close.

Hopefully this is only a licensing thing and not an ownership stake by Best Buy. That chain seems to kill companies that are involved with it.

In Timmins we have a Best Buy store across from our main mall which has a The Source store as well as a Bell/NorthernTel store. With this news there's a guarantee that at least one of those stores will close and possibly two.

[whatnext]

After his “success “ taking Westjet private, Gerry Schwartz has offered to do the same for wife Heather Reisman’s Indigo:

https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/indigo-receives-privatization-offer-from-gerald-schwartz-1.2029754

[SpongeG]

Closure of Urban Outfitters in London, Ont. is sign of changing demographics and spending habits

Reta Ismail
Multi-Skilled Journalist
Follow | Contact
Published Jan. 30, 2024

The big bright Urban Outfitters store sign that has been a staple in downtown London, Ont. for over a decade has been removed.

What was once a showroom filled with trendy clothing is now nothing but an empty space.


"It was an empty space when it converted from a blockbuster to the Urban Outfitters that it is now, or that it was, so this is just another change as we've been saying," said downtown Coun. David Ferreira.

The brick and mortar lifestyle clothing store at the main entry point to the north side of downtown shut down last week.

The Downtown London BIA said they are disappointed to see the key anchor leave the core, but this is another sign of changing consumer patterns.

"We're just seeing changing demographics, changing spending habits, and I think that's playing out in our downtown and the type of business mix that we're attracting," explained Barbara Maly, Downtown London executive director.

...

https://london.ctvnews.ca/closure-of-urban-outfitters-in-london-ont-is-sign-of-changing-demographics-and-spending-habits-1.6748830

[Kilgore Trout]

"It was an empty space when it converted from a blockbuster to the Urban Outfitters that it is now, or that it was, so this is just another change as we've been saying," said downtown Coun. David Ferreira.

Does CTV employ copyeditors? I notice a lot of local CTV copy that is full of errors. This is pretty minor (Blockbuster should be capitalized) but sometimes it's egregious, like misreporting the neighbourhood where something happened.

[urbandreamer]

One trend I haven't seen outside of Toronto: mini chains of clay/pottery studios. Could be a great way to meet people. I've also noticed some large art classes/storefronts, eg near Dundas & Keele, which has nights themed towards different ethnic groups, kind of sad.

[zahav]

One trend I haven't seen outside of Toronto: mini chains of clay/pottery studios. Could be a great way to meet people. I've also noticed some large art classes/storefronts, eg near Dundas & Keele, which has nights themed towards different ethnic groups, kind of sad.

Funny you should mention the pottery thing, there is a new CBC competition show for pottery:

THE GREAT CANADIAN POTTERY THROW DOWN (Premieres Winter 2024; 8x60; Frantic Films) Ten of Canada’s most talented potters compete to be crowned best at the wheel. THE GREAT CANADIAN POTTERY THROW DOWN is a naturally upbeat, open-hearted competition series that revels in the remarkable creativity of Canada’s top potters, featuring clever challenges, beautiful creations and personal stories between layers of humour and discovery. The Great Pottery Throw Down is an original British format created and owned by Love Productions, who also devised and produce the global smash-hit The Great British Baking Show. Five seasons of The Great Pottery Throw Down have aired in the UK on BBC and Channel 4, consistently performing above the timeslot average.

I never knew about the British series, but if it's been on for five seasons already it must be decently popular. Will be interesting to see if it catches on. People do like competition shows, and the baking series is really good. Just don't think people are as interested in pottery (especially watching it) as they are with food... But it is nice to see a program on CBC filmed outside Toronto, the last several years have been very Toronto-centric in terms of new shows. I am shocked that Vancouver is the setting for TWO new series (Allegiance and Wild Cards, the latter of which is coproduced by the CW and airing in the States at the same time, which surprised me).

[isaidso]

I watch The Great Pottery Throw Down all the time. Besides the refreshing and unique subject matter what's nice is the atmosphere in the workshop. A lot of those cooking shows seem to have hyper aggressive contestants who like to talk smack and/or a production style meant to create hype/tension. Instead, there's a strong sense of comraderie with the potters and they concentrate on the process rather than some obnoxious count down clock. It's a refreshing change and relaxing.

In Canada, it's broadcast on a channel called Makeful. There's a similar show called Good With Wood, one called the Great British Sewing Bee (they're amateur home sewers), and one about making miniature models. None of the contestants on these shows seem to be aggressive social climbers desperate for fame and fortune. They're just regular people who have a passion for their hobby. Again, it's refreshing and relaxing. The best show, imo, on that channel is The Repair Shop. People bring in damaged family air looms and a team of very skilled (and pleasant) tradespeople restore the item.

There's also a glass blowing show on Makeful called Best in Blow (filmed in Hamilton).

[zahav]

Metro Vancouver retail tenants ‘hard-pressed’ to find space (https://biv.com/article/2024/01/metro-vancouver-retail-tenants-hard-pressed-find-available-space)

Some Metro Vancouver consumers might be pinching their pennies but this hasn’t weakened the region’s retail real estate market.

Average vacancy in high traffic areas such as Robson Street, Yaletown and Kitsilano remained unchanged at 3.9 per cent when compared to June 2023, according to a Jan. 24 report from Colliers Canada.

Across the Metro Vancouver region, average vacancy decreased from 1.5 per cent to 0.7 per cent since last summer, leaving hopeful tenants “hard pressed to find suitable options.”

“Retailers have shown a resilient front as evidenced by an overall decrease in retail vacancy rates. Demand for retail space remains strong with marginal changes in vacancies and will likely remain strong in the coming year,” said the report.

While this is about Vancouver, I think many Canadian cities are the same. The article stood out to me because so often we hear of retail death, downtowns emptying out, crime and disorder increasing. So the takeaway we assume is that retail is dead. But actually going downtown and just exploring, you see this is totally false. Many areas are very lively, and storefronts full. And malls are much fuller in Canada I think, especially compared to the States. The suburban mall death in America has been happening for quite some time, and pre-Covid it was already heading down. But pre-Covid, downtowns in places like New York and San Fran were doing good, the suburban mall pain wasn't afflicting the urban cores. Flash forward to today, and the urban centres are now the big losers. San Fran especially, it is truly sad to see the decline. It's so rampant now, it's just day after day stores are closing and it's like Detroit or something. People will debate the main culprit, depending on personal views. Some will blame homelessness/drugs/crime as the main factor, while others blame the steep drop-off in office workers, creating empty offices, no patrons for restaurant lunches, errands, all the things that are supposed to make a downtown pulse. It is a combination of both, hand in hand, chicken and the egg. Americans had basically accepted the suburban mall death, but the downtowns are dying now too. It's a weird situation to be in when both suburban and urban are suffering, means a real pullback in demand. I guess the stats showing many big cities shrinking is consistent with the downtown declines, but this is insane. If you google San Francisco store closures, you will see how bad it is. Coffee shops, clothing, grocery, drug stores, everything closing. Here's a link from June, since then this has gone way up:

https://images.app.goo.gl/AVSNHdLKBvWVLGyXA

People also blame the city council, police, basically the entire system. But it's business at the end of the day, so the combination of crime, theft, no office workers, and no one coming into downtown has created this. And it will be very hard to come back from when it is at this scale, we're talking Whole Foods, a Hilton Hotel, Nordstrom, Saks, a movie theatre, all the smaller stores like Lululemon, Williams Sonoma, Crate and Barrel, H&M. The Whole Foods closed after just ONE year, one. Imagine building out an entire store like that just to close in 12 months. Whole Foods isn't like a small mom and pop outfit, those places come and go all the time. But big chains don't, they normally stay in new stores for a long long time.

My long drawn out point is, we really should be considering ourselves very lucky in Canada to not suffer the same fate as cities like San Fran. But it is absolutely not a reason to be happy and complacent, it should be watched very closely by politicians all over as what can happen when things spiral. It's a slippery slope from doing OK to nosediving, so people need to be aware of the factors that could lead to an SF situation here in our cities.
Don't forget, the poster child for decline was always Detroit. Poor, down on their luck, rusty Detroit. Just like dozens of midwest cities "rust belt", it was bleak news of closures, population flight, crime, abandoned properties. But these cities were never glitz, rich, or cutting edge, they were always pretty working class. So when they declined, it was very sad for the people there, but people on the coasts or in booming states like Colorado or Texas didn't really relate. Now all of a sudden it is San Francisco; rich, inventive, expensive, in high demand San Francisco. Where average incomes are sky high, the GDP per capita is sky high, tourists flock and stores appeal to wealth. Yes it's always had seedy dark corners and sketchy neighbourhoods, but it existed in its own space, and downtown was bustling. Cities like San Fran are not supposed to experience what Detroit has, it would have been unfathomable only a few years ago. I truly hope it turns around and they get back on track, it's a great place still overall, too good to be dragged into becoming a ghost town...

[zahav]

I watch The Great Pottery Throw Down all the time. Besides the refreshing and unique subject matter what's nice is the atmosphere in the workshop. A lot of those cooking shows seem to have hyper aggressive contestants who like to talk smack and/or a production style meant to create hype/tension. Instead, there's a strong sense of comraderie with the potters and they concentrate on the process rather than some obnoxious count down clock. It's a refreshing change and relaxing.

In Canada, it's broadcast on a channel called Makeful. There's a similar show called Good With Wood, one called the Great British Sewing Bee (they're amateur home sewers), and one about making miniature models. None of the contestants on these shows seem to be aggressive social climbers desperate for fame and fortune. They're just regular people who have a passion for their hobby. Again, it's refreshing and relaxing. The best show, imo, on that channel is The Repair Shop. People bring in damaged family air looms and a team of very skilled (and pleasant) tradespeople restore the item.

There's also a glass blowing show on Makeful called Best in Blow (filmed in Hamilton).

Interesting, yes I could actually see all of that being the case for the pottery show, definitely wouldn't have the erratic chaos and overly produced segments like the baking show does. I still love my cooking competition shows though, but there's clearly enough demand for all of these shows, they aren't mutually exclusive. I have seen a bit of it, but on CBC, not wakeful

[manny_santos]

Metro Vancouver retail tenants ‘hard-pressed’ to find space (https://biv.com/article/2024/01/metro-vancouver-retail-tenants-hard-pressed-find-available-space)

Some Metro Vancouver consumers might be pinching their pennies but this hasn’t weakened the region’s retail real estate market.

Average vacancy in high traffic areas such as Robson Street, Yaletown and Kitsilano remained unchanged at 3.9 per cent when compared to June 2023, according to a Jan. 24 report from Colliers Canada.

Across the Metro Vancouver region, average vacancy decreased from 1.5 per cent to 0.7 per cent since last summer, leaving hopeful tenants “hard pressed to find suitable options.”

“Retailers have shown a resilient front as evidenced by an overall decrease in retail vacancy rates. Demand for retail space remains strong with marginal changes in vacancies and will likely remain strong in the coming year,” said the report.

While this is about Vancouver, I think many Canadian cities are the same. The article stood out to me because so often we hear of retail death, downtowns emptying out, crime and disorder increasing. So the takeaway we assume is that retail is dead. But actually going downtown and just exploring, you see this is totally false. Many areas are very lively, and storefronts full. And malls are much fuller in Canada I think, especially compared to the States. The suburban mall death in America has been happening for quite some time, and pre-Covid it was already heading down. But pre-Covid, downtowns in places like New York and San Fran were doing good, the suburban mall pain wasn't afflicting the urban cores. Flash forward to today, and the urban centres are now the big losers. San Fran especially, it is truly sad to see the decline. It's so rampant now, it's just day after day stores are closing and it's like Detroit or something. People will debate the main culprit, depending on personal views. Some will blame homelessness/drugs/crime as the main factor, while others blame the steep drop-off in office workers, creating empty offices, no patrons for restaurant lunches, errands, all the things that are supposed to make a downtown pulse. It is a combination of both, hand in hand, chicken and the egg. Americans had basically accepted the suburban mall death, but the downtowns are dying now too. It's a weird situation to be in when both suburban and urban are suffering, means a real pullback in demand. I guess the stats showing many big cities shrinking is consistent with the downtown declines, but this is insane. If you google San Francisco store closures, you will see how bad it is. Coffee shops, clothing, grocery, drug stores, everything closing. Here's a link from June, since then this has gone way up:

https://images.app.goo.gl/AVSNHdLKBvWVLGyXA

People also blame the city council, police, basically the entire system. But it's business at the end of the day, so the combination of crime, theft, no office workers, and no one coming into downtown has created this. And it will be very hard to come back from when it is at this scale, we're talking Whole Foods, a Hilton Hotel, Nordstrom, Saks, a movie theatre, all the smaller stores like Lululemon, Williams Sonoma, Crate and Barrel, H&M. The Whole Foods closed after just ONE year, one. Imagine building out an entire store like that just to close in 12 months. Whole Foods isn't like a small mom and pop outfit, those places come and go all the time. But big chains don't, they normally stay in new stores for a long long time.

My long drawn out point is, we really should be considering ourselves very lucky in Canada to not suffer the same fate as cities like San Fran. But it is absolutely not a reason to be happy and complacent, it should be watched very closely by politicians all over as what can happen when things spiral. It's a slippery slope from doing OK to nosediving, so people need to be aware of the factors that could lead to an SF situation here in our cities.
Don't forget, the poster child for decline was always Detroit. Poor, down on their luck, rusty Detroit. Just like dozens of midwest cities "rust belt", it was bleak news of closures, population flight, crime, abandoned properties. But these cities were never glitz, rich, or cutting edge, they were always pretty working class. So when they declined, it was very sad for the people there, but people on the coasts or in booming states like Colorado or Texas didn't really relate. Now all of a sudden it is San Francisco; rich, inventive, expensive, in high demand San Francisco. Where average incomes are sky high, the GDP per capita is sky high, tourists flock and stores appeal to wealth. Yes it's always had seedy dark corners and sketchy neighbourhoods, but it existed in its own space, and downtown was bustling. Cities like San Fran are not supposed to experience what Detroit has, it would have been unfathomable only a few years ago. I truly hope it turns around and they get back on track, it's a great place still overall, too good to be dragged into becoming a ghost town...

Downtowns like Vancouver are doing well, but it's not like that across Canada.

In London, for example, the downtown retail vacancy rate is 18% and the office vacancy rate is 29% - the second highest in Canada, only behind Calgary at 30%. Though Calgary's retail vacancy rate is only 6%.

I was in downtown London a couple times last summer, on a weekday. It was completely dead - almost no people around, and the few people I saw were homeless. No lineups whatsoever at restaurants. And abandoned storefronts everywhere. I thought it was dead back in 2005 when I was attending Western, but it's far worse now than it was 18-19 years ago.

Even if downtowns like San Francisco are struggling, they still get a fair amount of tourists and they attract events like last year's APEC conference. A city the size of London isn't going to be hosting a large international conference like that and it's never been a major tourist destination.

[whatnext]

Vera's Burger Shack expanding to Alberta with three new stores
New franchised restaurants in Calgary bring chain's number of locations to 13
By Glen Korstrom | January 18, 2024

https://biv.com/sites/default/files/styles/media_image/public/2024-01/verasburgershack-google.jpg?h=ce50bb31&itok=5QWmMLKZ

The Vancouver-based, 10-location Vera's Burger Shack has hatched a partnership with an investor who wants to own and operate three franchised locations in Calgary.

If all goes well, that operator may be sold rights to own the Calgary market, Vera's Burger Shack CEO Gerald Tritt told BIV this afternoon.

"We're going to walk before we can run," he said of the decision to not yet provide exclusive rights to the entire city of Calgary to the new partner.


Tritt said his company is also negotiating with potential franchisees in northern Alberta, and in Saskatchewan.

...

https://biv.com/article/2024/01/veras-burger-shack-expanding-alberta-three-new-stores

God that photo really makes the Davie Street location look grubby.

[isaidso]

Interesting, yes I could actually see all of that being the case for the pottery show, definitely wouldn't have the erratic chaos and overly produced segments like the baking show does. I still love my cooking competition shows though, but there's clearly enough demand for all of these shows, they aren't mutually exclusive. I have seen a bit of it, but on CBC, not wakeful

Somewhat of a surprise to me, those Makeful shows have become the few shows I actually tune into regularly. They're a peek into crafts I had no previous knowledge of. Thanks for the heads-up about the Canadian version. I'll keep an eye out for it.

[SpongeG]

God that photo really makes the Davie Street location look grubby.

and its next to an animal hospital lol

[Taeolas]

Somewhat of a surprise to me, those Makeful shows have become the few shows I actually tune into regularly. They're a peek into crafts I had no previous knowledge of. Thanks for the heads-up about the Canadian version. I'll keep an eye out for it.

I think the food network US style competitions have thoroughly 'tainted' Chef and Cooking shows; but other hobbies tend to get more relaxed shows. And as a somewhat avid Reality Competition show watcher, Canadian versions of these shows tend to be less 'shouty' than the US versions and generally get better reactions both from Canadians and from American and International viewers.

The CBC's "Great Canadian Bake Off" is often seen as one of the best Bake Off shows being made (rivalling the UK version). Blown Away has always gotten good buzz when it airs. Against the Tide and the Woodcarving competition Discovery did also had good chatter.

So while I haven't seen any Pottery Showdown series yet (I don't get Makeful ), I'm looking forward to the CBC version this week, and I hope Seth doesn't overwhelm it too much. I think he'll do fine but I have a few slight concerns.

[MonctonRad]

:previous:

Masterchef Canada was way better than the American version of the show. I'm sad that it is off the air now.

[WestEnd604]

God that photo really makes the Davie Street location look grubby.

It is grubby. It's a disaster, frankly. Davie Street is like the land that time forgot. While so much of the Downtown Vancouver penisula develops and improves, Davie between Burrard and Jervis is left to rot. It's sad. And Vera's is a dump. I can't understand why they think they can expand. They'd be better off updating their branding and stores. At least clean them.

[vanatox]

:previous:

Masterchef Canada was way better than the American version of the show. I'm sad that it is off the air now.

You can watch Masterchef Québec :)

[whatnext]

Good lord, is this what we've sunk to?

In the wake of Buy Now, Pay Later, we could be getting Dine Now, Pay Later
PREET BANERJEE
SPECIAL TO THE GLOBE AND MAIL
PUBLISHED YESTERDAY
UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO

First we got Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL). Soon, we should be getting Dine Now, Pay Later.

A report released late last year indicated that almost half of U.S. consumers said they used BNPL options to buy meals at restaurants. In Canada, restaurant owners and upper management have a “strong desire to add buy now, pay later and plan to do it in the next year.”....


https://www.theglobeandmail.com/investing/personal-finance/household-finances/article-in-the-wake-of-buy-now-pay-later-we-could-be-getting-dine-now-pay/

[WarrenC12]

Isn't that called a credit card?

[whatnext]

Isn't that called a credit card?

...Buy Now, Pay Later and the variations of online and point of sale installment loans have been most popular with young, lower-income and less-educated adults. Many proclaim their love for the forced budgeting aspect of installment loans. Some use it because they are not able to get credit otherwise, while some turn to it out of desperation.

In the best of cases, payment innovation in BNPL can help someone kickstart their journey to responsible credit management. In the worst of cases, the most vulnerable consumers get into more financial trouble as they can get carried away with multiple BNPL loans at the same time, missed payments can rack up very high fees, and in some cases be reported to credit bureaus further affecting their ability to tap into traditional credit....(bold mine)

[WarrenC12]

...[I]Buy Now, Pay Later and the variations of online and point of sale installment loans have been most popular with young, lower-income and less-educated adults. Many proclaim their love for the forced budgeting aspect of installment loans. Some use it because they are not able to get credit otherwise, while some turn to it out of desperation.


Isn't Money Mart filling this niche then? :D

[Loco101]

If you can't afford to eat out then you shouldn't be going into debt to eat at a restaurant. Or am I missing something?

[SpongeG]

will it be like those Klarna pay options?
It is used only online here in Canada, where you can make a $200 purchase, and then they break it up into 4 payments over time. When I was in Australia in 2018 most stores had that option in-store where you could do that, I don't think I've seen it in stores here but it's online here for sure.

If one were to do it every time that's a big problem but if you had to plan a big birthday party you could do it that way for special occasions I guess.

[whatnext]

If you can't afford to eat out then you shouldn't be going into debt to eat at a restaurant. Or am I missing something?

One would think people would see it that way but apparently not…

[Djeffery]

will it be like those Klarna pay options?
It is used only online here in Canada, where you can make a $200 purchase, and then they break it up into 4 payments over time. When I was in Australia in 2018 most stores had that option in-store where you could do that, I don't think I've seen it in stores here but it's online here for sure.

If one were to do it every time that's a big problem but if you had to plan a big birthday party you could do it that way for special occasions I guess.

I know you used to be able to set up a payment plan at Canadian Tire at the checkout if you have the Canadian Tire Mastercard. I'm assuming you still can, I haven't bought anything of any dollar value there in years now where I would consider that option, but in the past I did buy tires and patio furniture and took advantage of the "free" 12 month option at checkout. As I'm typing this, I'm recalling that I'm sure I had this option at Home Depot as well several years ago. I don't have an HD account anymore so I'm not aware if they still offer this at checkout. Not sure if this is quite the same thing as you are referencing, but it's pretty similar.

[harls]

This bullshit reminds me of my first year in university with all those credit card companies setting up kiosks at student residences, looking for fresh meat.

[casper]

will it be like those Klarna pay options?
It is used only online here in Canada, where you can make a $200 purchase, and then they break it up into 4 payments over time. When I was in Australia in 2018 most stores had that option in-store where you could do that, I don't think I've seen it in stores here but it's online here for sure.

If one were to do it every time that's a big problem but if you had to plan a big birthday party you could do it that way for special occasions I guess.

Desjardins use to offer a similar program to retailers who used them as their merchant bank. Customer comes in, selects the option swipes the credit card, it determines if they are credit worthy and splits the payment up over multiple time periods. The merchant gets charted 1-2% to cover the financing. However when Desjardins sold off their merchant bank business to GlobalPayments I think that came to an end.

There are a handful of financing companies doing similar thing. The store wants to be paid immediately and if it has the margin was quite willing to pay a few percent to a finance company to cover the interest on the loan. Now that we are in a world of higher interest rates, it is less attractive.

Same thing when you buy a car. The dealer is getting paid with 24 hours of you driving off the lot with your car. After that it is some bank that is holding the loan.

[Hawrylyshyn]

This bullshit reminds me of my first year in university with all those credit card companies setting up kiosks at student residences, looking for fresh meat.

One of the major banks (RBC or BMO?) offers students a $200,000 line of credit (with a high interest rate), and the amount of people I know who got sucked into it is staggering. Especially since these people didn't actually NEED that money and could've just lived more frugally (Eg. how all students live).

Have fun paying that off. :shrug:

[harls]

^ 200 K limit, becoming 18, going to bars.. what could possibly go wrong?


Isn't Money Mart filling this niche then? :D

Or this guy..

fNUTSv_lNLk

[YOWetal]

One would think people would see it that way but apparently not…

Yeah I used to feel sorry for those people but honestly if I look at my parents generation now retiring. As many of them scrimped and saved and invested overly conservatively and now have no use for this nest egg they've accumulated as those that are broke heading into retirement. If you're 25 and want to go to a Birthday dinner and spread out the payments why not.

[WarrenC12]

When I look at my RBC credit card, charges over a certain amount ($300 maybe) give me the option to "pay in installments". I don't know how that works, it's already on a credit card where I can pay with flexibility over time, albeit with insane rates.

Debt inception.

[harls]

Imagine a world without credit, where you would actually have the means to pay for what you want.

I think the whole planet would collapse.

[WhipperSnapper]

People coming to the realization they don't need all this shit and demanding things like appliances last more than ten years maximum would destroy the economy but, save the world.

[megadude]

When was the last time you saw one of these? I don't think I'd seen one since the late 90's, maybe early 2000's. Several grocery stores used to have these. Did these ever go away in other parts of the country?

I happened to be driving on Burloak in Oakville and stopped by the new Food Basics at Rebecca. Was surprised to see these.

It won't be long before some Tik Tok douche tries to go cart surfing in one of these and crashes into the milk section and makes a huge mess.

https://i.postimg.cc/xTGQTrCs/IMG-5125-Copy.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

[Loco101]

A couple of grocery stores in Timmins have them. Foodland for sure and I think Your Independent Grocer as well. I haven't been to Food Basics in a long time but they might have them or at least did at one time.

I've seen teenagers fool around with them before trying different stunts. But usually it was in the parking lot.

[SpongeG]

I've seen some of those here, it's got a flag on it and says something about "future shopper" I forget what store it was at.

[megadude]

I've seen some of those here, it's got a flag on it and says something about "future shopper" I forget what store it was at.

That's what these ones said. And it was at Food Basics.

[Acajack]

Some grocery stores in Québec experimented with CÉLIBATAIRE (SINGLE) flags on carts a few years ago.

They're gone now.

[cslusarc]

Earlier today Macy's announced that it will close 150 Macy's stores throughout the US over the next 3 years. I wonder if Hudson's Bay will close an additional10-15 stores over the next 3 years too?

[Loco101]

Earlier today Macy's announced that it will close 150 Macy's stores throughout the US over the next 3 years. I wonder if Hudson's Bay will close an additional10-15 stores over the next 3 years too?

I really don't know how so many HBC stores are still going. You are probably right that there will be about that many store closures. I wouldn't be surprised if the number is higher. The company is mainly American owned and I'm wondering if someone in Canada will put in an offer for the shares to take control.

[manny_santos]

I really don't know how so many HBC stores are still going. You are probably right that there will be about that many store closures. I wouldn't be surprised if the number is higher. The company is mainly American owned and I'm wondering if someone in Canada will put in an offer for the shares to take control.

I was in the downtown Vancouver store recently and was pleasantly surprised how busy it was. I had last been there in 2019 and it was pretty dead when I was there that time. (Both times I was in the menswear department on one of the upper floors)

The closure of Nordstrom nearby could have helped that store.

[Loco101]

I was in the downtown Vancouver store recently and was pleasantly surprised how busy it was. I had last been there in 2019 and it was pretty dead when I was there that time. (Both times I was in the menswear department on one of the upper floors)

The closure of Nordstrom nearby could have helped that store.

Oh that's interesting. I never got a chance to visit a Nordstrom store in Canada. In the major Canadian cities stores like HBC need to be fairly busy much of the time in order to survive. The problem with those stores is that they don't have any coolness like they did in the past. They don't seem to have anything drawing people there. I find so much there to be too expensive and not really interesting.

[SpongeG]

I like the Bay, the downtown store in Vancouver is a good one, unfortunately most of them are pretty bad, lack of staff, and the brands can vary from location to location, not enough consistency.

Oakridge Park will be getting a new Bay store, they had to close for the redevelopment, hopefully they make it a good one. Locally the Richmond store is one of the better ones after downtown, looks good, a lot of high end brands and people actually seem to shop there.

[Wigs]

I really don't know how so many HBC stores are still going.

Well for starters, they have no longer have competition. Eaton's, Sears, and now Nordstrom no longer exist. Québec City based clothier, Simons is not in every Metro of Canada (only 2 locations in Ontario!).

Walmart is certainly not in direct competition with Hudson's Bay. While prices are high, people I know shop during "Bay Days" or sales events they routinely have throughout the year.

[whatnext]

I was in the downtown Vancouver store recently and was pleasantly surprised how busy it was. I had last been there in 2019 and it was pretty dead when I was there that time. (Both times I was in the menswear department on one of the upper floors)

The closure of Nordstrom nearby could have helped that store.

Were the elevators and escalators actually working?

'Challenging environment': Shoppers decry state of disrepair at Vancouver's flagship Bay store (https://vancouversun.com/news/local-news/vancouver-shoppers-decry-disrepair-bay-flagship-store)

[theman23]

The Bay flagship in downtown Vancouver seemed to have its heydey around 2015 or so, which was probably around the time the Bay was rapidly acquiring other retailers and attempting to expand to Europe. The franchise has always struggled to impress with its mall stores, but even the Granville store was a bit of a sad downtrodden mess when I last visited in 2023. I've noticed that a lot of other department stores the world over have managed to stay relevant by expanding their restaurant offerings and often including a premium grocery store in the basement.

[urbandreamer]

Vincenzo's in Waterloo has those baby grocery carts. You see them in small town Ontario, like Zehrs Country Market in Millbank or Foodtown in Milverton.

[q12]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GJMrik5XgAEIu2D?format=jpg&name=medium
https://twitter.com/RCCAtlantic/status/1770806970699636910

Simons opens a store in Halifax: the retailer realizes the dream of being present from coast to coast

Quebec Journal
DIANE TREMBLAY
Thursday, March 21, 2024

https://m1.quebecormedia.com/emp/emp/ec2301f0-e6f4-11ee-9450-316d8e04f751_ORIGINAL.jpg?

https://m1.quebecormedia.com/emp/emp/c8ed00a0-e71c-11ee-9450-316d8e04f751_ORIGINAL.jpg?

https://m1.quebecormedia.com/emp/emp/c63b0000-e71c-11ee-9450-316d8e04f751_ORIGINAL.jpg?

https://m1.quebecormedia.com/emp/emp/c5ddebe0-e71c-11ee-9450-316d8e04f751_ORIGINAL.jpg?0

Maison Simons marks an important step in its expansion plan with the opening Thursday of a store in Halifax, the first in the Atlantic, which confirms the presence of the Quebec retailer from coast to coast, which, in addition, has just had a record year in terms of turnover.

This store, located at the Halifax Shopping Centre, becomes the chain's 17th across the country.

“For us, it’s a natural evolution to get closer to our customers. “It’s part of our intention to densify our presence in major markets across the country,” said Bernard Leblanc, president and CEO of La Maison Simons.

“Halifax is an extremely dynamic city. It is one of the most vibrant Canadian cities currently. We are very excited to be able to integrate into it, but also because it represents an important supra-regional market,” he added.

This new opening comes after a record year in terms of turnover since the creation of the family business in 1840 by John Simons.

“Growth continues. We have just finished our fiscal year with a record year. This is a year where we still recorded good growth, in the double digits, compared to our pre-COVID position. We are in a very positive development. The business is healthy,” continued Mr. Leblanc, who succeeded Peter Simons at the head of the company in March 2022, although Mr. Simons is still active in the organization.

Halifax Store
Always in search of a unique architectural imprint, the exterior of the store in Halifax is inspired by the sails of the Bluenose. This design is intended to be a reminder of the maritime history of Halifax, but also that of the first ancestor of the Simons family who settled in Quebec in the early 1800s, where he made ship sails.

The Halifax store has a surface area of ​​55,000 square feet, which is comparable to the Sherbrooke store. The penultimate branch to open its doors is the CF Fairview Pointe-Claire store, in 2022.

Expansion plan
“We are still open to increasing our presence in major centers in Canada. There are five stores in the Montreal area and three in Quebec, while we have only one in the greater Toronto area and only one in the greater Vancouver area. We can assume that with the population of these cities there is potential. There is still room for growth within the Canadian market.”

Even though he is often asked the question, Mr. Leblanc is not closing the door to expansion in the United States one day, but for now, the priority remains the Canadian market.

“It's not out of the question, but our focus is really on Canada at the moment. Without saying that we will never go, it is not in the cards at the moment.

In 2023, nearly 82% of products exclusive to La Maison Simons met the requirements of the Vision program which promotes sustainable development actions. By 2025, the goal is to reach 100%.

MAISON SIMONS IS PRESENT FROM COAST TO COAST:

In Quebec:
10 branches + a 700,000 square foot campus in Quebec

Ontario:
Mississauga: Square One (2016)
Ottawa: CF Rideau Center (2016)

Alberta:
Calgary: The Core (2017)
Edmonton: Londonderry Mall (2017)
Edmonton: West Edmonton Mall (2012)

British Columbia:
Vancouver: Park Royal South (2015)

Nova Scotia:
Halifax Shopping Center (2024)

(Translated)
https://www.journaldequebec.com/2024/03/21/la-maison-simons-ouvre-un-magasin-a-halifax-le-detaillant-realise-le-reve-detre-present-dun-ocean-a-lautre

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GJMHVMWWMAAU8tn?format=jpg&name=medium
https://twitter.com/HalifaxReTales/status/1770767146194276705

[whatnext]

Every time I've been in the local Simons in Park Royal in West Vancouver it looks understocked. Like they've got too much fixturing for the amount of product they're bringing in. I don't know if it is a cash flow issue or they just overbuilt the store.

[kwoldtimer]

Every time I've been in the local Simons in Park Royal in West Vancouver it looks understocked. Like they've got too much fixturing for the amount of product they're bringing in. I don't know if it is a cash flow issue or they just overbuilt the store.

Understocked, or "curated", I wonder?

[whatnext]

Understocked, or "curated", I wonder?

Definitely not curated. Like the cubes they use for folded shirts have two shirts in them.

[SpongeG]

I don't think it's understocked, they just don't overstock like some stores do. With data collection it's very easy for them to understand their customers and what sells and what doesn't.

[Wigs]

I like Simons. I wish Hamilton or Niagara had one
Congrats Halifax on becoming a bigger city with bigger city retail :cheers:

[whatnext]

I don't think it's understocked, they just don't overstock like some stores do. With data collection it's very easy for them to understand their customers and what sells and what doesn't.

Perhaps but then they should merchandise accordingly.

[SpongeG]

Freddy's is an American Burger chain that is rapidly expanding in the states, they will be expanding to Canada in 2024 with 5 locations in Alberta.

Freddy's Signs Second Development Agreement in Canada

The brand, known for its signature combination of craveable menu items, including cooked-to-order steakburgers, shoestring fries and freshly churned frozen custard treats, opened more than 60 new locations in 2023. Freddy's looks to maintain a high level of growth across the United States and aims to bring the Freddy's footprint to more than 800 units by 2026.

https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/freddy-s-signs-second-development-agreement-in-canada-823840910.html

https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2303505/Freddy_s_Original_Double_combo.jpg?w=600

g6n1IriM8es

[megadude]

I truly am blown away by just how many fast food chain restaurants there are. And the effort that goes into expansion. It's a lot of time, money and effort. So many take ground leases for 20+ years and build their standalone store somewhere at the cost of who knows what. And the time and beauracracy is something else. Takes forever to get site plan agreements and building permits, etc.

And it really amazes me how people are willing to line up at the latest joint to open up. It's a long list, but here's an example in Kitchener from a couple of years ago.

I laugh when people line up for things like this. And I'm amazed by how much people are willing to spend on food. But, in many ways it's a good thing. Keep the economy buzzing along.

https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/therecord.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/38/938d0794-57ea-597d-99aa-ba445a5993d9/645585eecf63f.image.jpg?resize=1073%2C500
https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-region/chick-fil-a-opens-in-kitchener-to-long-line-ups-and-lgbtq2-protest/article_19d97ee4-10bf-56b9-830d-6607890e95f0.html

[Wigs]

When I was in my 20s I loved trying the hyped up chains. Tried White Castle in the Aughts, Chick-fil-A back in 2007, Chipotle in 2009, Whataburger in 2011, In-N-Out burger finally in 2019

Now that I'm older I try to find the best mom and pops, pubs with the best quality food for the price. Most chains are a total rip off in inflationary times of 2024

[megadude]

Considering how much a single burger costs from a common fast food chain these days, I tend to agree that I might as well get it from a mom and pop store. Preferably from somewhere like Johnny's, which is a Scarboro institution. Sure, it looks like a relic, but if that keeps the prices down then so be it. It's not gourmet, but people swear by it. For those prices, it's hard to argue. Prices shown are from 5 months ago.

Sonny's in Brampton is another one of these places. Prices from 2 months ago.


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/p/AF1QipMbBxwE9aHk3jvwwMWOvIddr1cImoUFiHcbnT4T=s680-w680-h510
Eli HB

https://i.postimg.cc/W1MmgW8X/gjkk.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

https://i.postimg.cc/8C4hn7qv/hjkljk.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

https://i.postimg.cc/CLFdcwGy/hhjkhk.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

https://i.postimg.cc/TYC1SB0K/hjklhjkl.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

snagit (https://postimages.org/app)

[Loco101]

I truly am blown away by just how many fast food chain restaurants there are. And the effort that goes into expansion. It's a lot of time, money and effort. So many take ground leases for 20+ years and build their standalone store somewhere at the cost of who knows what. And the time and beauracracy is something else. Takes forever to get site plan agreements and building permits, etc.

And it really amazes me how people are willing to line up at the latest joint to open up. It's a long list, but here's an example in Kitchener from a couple of years ago.

I laugh when people line up for things like this. And I'm amazed by how much people are willing to spend on food. But, in many ways it's a good thing. Keep the economy buzzing along.

https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/therecord.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/38/938d0794-57ea-597d-99aa-ba445a5993d9/645585eecf63f.image.jpg?resize=1073%2C500
https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-region/chick-fil-a-opens-in-kitchener-to-long-line-ups-and-lgbtq2-protest/article_19d97ee4-10bf-56b9-830d-6607890e95f0.html

Remember the Popeyes that opened in Halifax a year or two ago and how there was a lineup of cars that went quite a ways down a road? I thought that was really strange for a chain that isn't really very exciting in my opinion. We had a Popeyes open in Timmins a few months ago and there may have been 9 or 10 vehicles in the drive-thru at one point during the first week it was open but there just wasn't the craziness you saw in Halifax.

I agree that you can do better these days for fast food at locally-owned independent places. The chains seem to have had an annual inflation rate of 10-15% over the last few years.

[theman23]

Remember the Popeyes that opened in Halifax a year or two ago and how there was a lineup of cars that went quite a ways down a road? I thought that was really strange for a chain that isn't really very exciting in my opinion. We had a Popeyes open in Timmins a few months ago and there may have been 9 or 10 vehicles in the drive-thru at one point during the first week it was open but there just wasn't the craziness you saw in Halifax.

I agree that you can do better these days for fast food at locally-owned independent places. The chains seem to have had an annual inflation rate of 10-15% over the last few years.

Might have something to do with Timmins being 10 times smaller than Halifax.

[J.OT13]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GJMrik5XgAEIu2D?format=jpg&name=medium
https://twitter.com/RCCAtlantic/status/1770806970699636910

(Translated)
https://www.journaldequebec.com/2024/03/21/la-maison-simons-ouvre-un-magasin-a-halifax-le-detaillant-realise-le-reve-detre-present-dun-ocean-a-lautre


Happy to see Simons is doing so well. Very rare that a department store of all types of stores is thriving. They do a good job at selling items that appeal to the younger generations (as opposed to HBC) and taking on local culture in their store designs, and what they sell too (for example, the Ottawa and Gatineau stores apparently sell very different items).

Freddy's is an American Burger chain that is rapidly expanding in the states, they will be expanding to Canada in 2024 with 5 locations in Alberta.

Freddy's Signs Second Development Agreement in Canada

https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/freddy-s-signs-second-development-agreement-in-canada-823840910.html

https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2303505/Freddy_s_Original_Double_combo.jpg?w=600

g6n1IriM8es

Oh my! I want those burgers!!

Considering how much a single burger costs from a common fast food chain these days, I tend to agree that I might as well get it from a mom and pop store. Preferably from somewhere like Johnny's, which is a Scarboro institution. Sure, it looks like a relic, but if that keeps the prices down then so be it. It's not gourmet, but people swear by it. For those prices, it's hard to argue. Prices shown are from 5 months ago.

Trick is to buy the smallest burgers. At A&W, the buddy burgers are relatively cheap. Same with McDonald's Cheese Burger and small fry. If my math is still right, you can get more bang for your buck buying multiples of those over the big boys.

[Airboy]

Unique to Alberta. Burger Baron. Most small towns have one. And My go to place in those towns that have them.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt26598546/
https://burgerbaronmovie.com/

[Wigs]

Considering how much a single burger costs from a common fast food chain these days, I tend to agree that I might as well get it from a mom and pop store. Preferably from somewhere like Johnny's, which is a Scarboro institution. Sure, it looks like a relic, but if that keeps the prices down then so be it. It's not gourmet, but people swear by it. For those prices, it's hard to argue. Prices shown are from 5 months ago.

Sonny's in Brampton is another one of these places. Prices from 2 months ago.


In 2024 those prices are very reasonable.
Which place has better burgers?

[jonny24]

Freddy's is an American Burger chain that is rapidly expanding in the states, they will be expanding to Canada in 2024 with 5 locations in Alberta.

Freddy's Signs Second Development Agreement in Canada



Those burgers look amazing! Wider, flatter crispier patties is the way to go rather than tall/thick what I call "pub style" burgers.

Are they called "steakburgers" from the cuts of beef they use?

[manny_santos]

I've been to Johnny's once, back in 2017. The portion size reminded me a lot of Harvey's back in the early 90s, those were big burgers.

[megadude]

Trick is to buy the smallest burgers. At A&W, the buddy burgers are relatively cheap. Same with McDonald's Cheese Burger and small fry. If my math is still right, you can get more bang for your buck buying multiples of those over the big boys.

Yeah, I only buy value menu or kids menu at McDs, BK, A&W, Harveys and Wendy's. And promo stuff at KFC. A Mcdouble and small fries is enough for me.

But when they have promos or coupons like Dave's single right now for four bucks, it's hard to resist. Had it twice in the past two weeks. No side either. That's enough to satisfy my hunger. Won't be full, but fills me up eough. I've been watching my portions for many months now. A&W has two dollar teen burger on Leafs game days. Had that four or five times the past few weeks. But they only have one fries options and it's four bucks. So still a cheap meal, but not super cheap.

[megadude]

In 2024 those prices are very reasonable.
Which place has better burgers?

Been many years since I've had either. Haven't lived in Brampton for over a decade now and Johnny's in Scarbs is out of the way. Though I was one block away from there last summer but already had lunch.

The only times I went to either was after the club or bar. Open late and good spot for late night munchies on a budget.

Those burgers at Freddy's look more appealing to me than the charcoal type burgers. Similar looking to the one I had at Carl's Jr. when I was in the US. Same for one I had at Culver's in the US. I would definitely try Freddy's because it looks good, but not going out of my way and not going to line up like those people. Though often those types of burgers are pretty greasy. Actually, also had a similar one at Burlington Beach two summers ago. And wasn't all that expensive. I was pleasantly surprised.

I tried White Castle when in Columbus, OH for the novelty of it (I saw the two stars of the movie getting Shawarma ahead of us Downtown TO after the club). Let's just say I hope they don't come to Canada because I will throw up just from passing by one. Not one of the four of us finished what we ordered. Really cheap though. Which explains the clientele that was in there with us that night. Girl ahead of us was loudly talking on her phone about her parole for everyone to hear.

Still haven't tried Jollibees. Also looks disgusting to me like White Castle, but I keep saying I need to try chicken fingers or something at least. Most definitely not their spaghetti, which looks horrifying and just doesn't feel right from a fast food place.

And yesterday I saw a tiktok video about a Toronto guy who gets food all over the place. He drove to Arby's in Burlington for fake looking roast beef and fake looking ham sandwiches. I used to get those when I lived in Burlington. And my friend is right across the street from there. But now I will only get those spicy curly fries. Don't know why nowhere else has them! I also got them in Iowa.

[Loco101]

Yeah, I only buy value menu or kids menu at McDs, BK, A&W, Harveys and Wendy's. And promo stuff at KFC. A Mcdouble and small fries is enough for me.

But when they have promos or coupons like Dave's single right now for four bucks, it's hard to resist. Had it twice in the past two weeks. No side either. That's enough to satisfy my hunger. Won't be full, but fills me up eough. I've been watching my portions for many months now. A&W has two dollar teen burger on Leafs game days. Had that four or five times the past few weeks. But they only have one fries options and it's four bucks. So still a cheap meal, but not super cheap.

I have a the $2 deal at A&W as well and you can also get the Mozza Burger as well for the same price. They still have $2.00 hot specialty beverage of any size so I got a large chai latte. I think their coffee is also cheaper than usual and it's to complete with Tim's roll up the virtual rim. I added a hash brown as a side since it cost less than fries and is something I prefer.

[jonny24]

I've never been so appreciative of the fact that the Leafs play like every other day :D

I've been googling their schedule, not because I care about them, but because I want more cheap burgers!

[Martin Mtl]

Montreal will get a proper Appele Store flagship in a few months in this 3-storey 1896 building on Sainte-catherine street, just across the street from the Olgilvy-Holt Renfrew store.


https://i.postimg.cc/sD83RCWp/temp-Imagejslc-Rd.avif

[harls]

I laugh when people line up for things like this. And I'm amazed by how much people are willing to spend on food. But, in many ways it's a good thing. Keep the economy buzzing along.

https://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/therecord.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/9/38/938d0794-57ea-597d-99aa-ba445a5993d9/645585eecf63f.image.jpg?resize=1073%2C500
https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-region/chick-fil-a-opens-in-kitchener-to-long-line-ups-and-lgbtq2-protest/article_19d97ee4-10bf-56b9-830d-6607890e95f0.html

I went to the Chick-fil-A when it opened in Fargo a few years ago. Same kind of deal - massive curiosity. I imagine there is no line up there today.

[SpongeG]

this store is expanding into Canada, well Ontario with 5 stores. It looks more Alberta than Ontario though.

US-Based Women’s Fashion Brand Windsor Announces First 5 Canadian Stores, Plans National Expansion [Interviews]
https://retail-insider.com/retail-insider/2024/04/us-based-womens-fashion-brand-windsor-announces-first-5-canadian-stores/

is the cowboy look big in Toronto?
https://retailinsider.b-cdn.net/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/windsor-1.png

[urbandreamer]

I think Leslieville area, Hamilton Mountain/Ancaster, Conestoga Mall, London and maybe in Barrie it could work.

I was listening to this country music station from Listowel, Ontario the other day when I was in Stratford area and kind of enjoyed it:
https://theranch100.com/

[cslusarc]

Retail-Insiders.com reports that Regina's Hudson’s Bay store is closing next year:
Hudson’s Bay To Exit Regina And Close Downtown Cornwall Centre Store In 2025  (https://retail-insider.com/retail-insider/2024/05/hudsons-bay-to-exit-regina-and-close-downtown-cornwall-centre-store-in-2025/)

[cslusarc]

Luxury beauty brand Clarins to pull out of Hudson's Bay stores in Canada (https://www.ctvnews.ca/business/luxury-beauty-brand-clarins-to-pull-out-of-hudson-s-bay-stores-in-canada-1.6898424)

Also,

That 5-month long strike at Hudson’s Bay in Kamloops with assistance of a provincial mediator.

[ericmacm]

Freedom Mobile (https://www.freedommobile.ca/en-CA/article-freedom-manitoba) is expanding to Manitoba. Aggressively discounted plans are being offered for the first 6 months. They are also now starting to offer internet and TV packages in Ontario, Alberta, and BC.

Freedom Mobile has come a long way under Quebecor since they took ownership of it. The coverage areas of Videotron and Freedom have been merged together and they have started offering some really affordable plans that offer combined US and CA coverage. The Big 3 have had to step up their game on their offerings over the past year and the cost of data is going down fast.

From just a cursory search, the Q2 2023 data shows Rogers/Bell/Telus have approximately 10-11M mobile subscribers each while Quebecor has approximately 3.6M between both Freedom and Videotron. It is great to see the gap narrowing.

[Djeffery]

I was willing to give Freedom a look when I was searching new plans over Christmas. Had a look at their coverage map and was less than impressed. I live in Woodstock Ont, and we are in their 4G LTE zone. Meanwhile the sparsely populated farm country immediately east and north east of the city is in the 5G zone. This includes about 8 of the very few km of 401 that has 5G with them from Windsor to west of Toronto.

[ericmacm]

I was willing to give Freedom a look when I was searching new plans over Christmas. Had a look at their coverage map and was less than impressed. I live in Woodstock Ont, and we are in their 4G LTE zone. Meanwhile the sparsely populated farm country immediately east and north east of the city is in the 5G zone. This includes about 8 of the very few km of 401 that has 5G with them from Windsor to west of Toronto.

That's my problem with them right now. The plans are great but the coverage doesn't work for me. If they had at least the 4G LTE MVNO coverage in rural areas I would be okay with it, but we aren't there yet. They are slowly rolling out their MVNO coverage in other parts of the country (just recently happened in Ottawa, and the Manitoba service will also be through MVNO) so I'm hoping that they can make some more progress on that front in the near future. The $35/mo 50 GB US-CA plan is really tempting.

[svlt]

I've wanted to join Freedom for more than a decade since they first launched as Wind mobile. I don't care for the fanciest or fastest speeds, but time and time again the big three Canadian carriers come up with an offer that's actually pretty decent. I'm paying $34 a month and I don't think shaving a couple dollars a month is worth it with Freedom to experience an outage or two once I travel out of a network area.

[MolsonExport]

Retail-Insiders.com reports that Regina's Hudson’s Bay store is closing next year:
Hudson’s Bay To Exit Regina And Close Downtown Cornwall Centre Store In 2025  (https://retail-insider.com/retail-insider/2024/05/hudsons-bay-to-exit-regina-and-close-downtown-cornwall-centre-store-in-2025/)

that sucks. Hudson's Bay has been quietly retreating its footprint in Canadian cities for decades now.

Death by Big Box Barf in the Boonies.

[ScreamingViking]

that sucks. Hudson's Bay has been quietly retreating its footprint in Canadian cities for decades now.

Death by Big Box Barf in the Boonies.

Gotta follow the money.

I remember being bummed out when Eaton's was done. In Hamilton, Hudson's Bay took over the regional Robinson's chain. Which was also sad, but at least it kept the 'anchors' in the city... there is still one HB remaining, but I doubt it will be around for long.

And then we were down to Sears. :( But that departure has now allowed mall owners to rethink their retail space!

[WarrenC12]

I've wanted to join Freedom for more than a decade since they first launched as Wind mobile. I don't care for the fanciest or fastest speeds, but time and time again the big three Canadian carriers come up with an offer that's actually pretty decent. I'm paying $34 a month and I don't think shaving a couple dollars a month is worth it with Freedom to experience an outage or two once I travel out of a network area.

I have been with Freedom since the WIND days. I'm mostly in downtown Vancouver, so YMMV but my experience has been pretty good. For years it was 2nd tier but still well worth the savings. Now my wife and I pay $75 after tax for 2 lines at 30gigs, more than we'd ever need, 5G, and we roam on other networks for no charge when we don't have Freedom service. :)

[Acajack]

that sucks. Hudson's Bay has been quietly retreating its footprint in Canadian cities for decades now.

Death by Big Box Barf in the Boonies.

It's not a downtown store but my guess is that the Hudson's Bay store near me at Les Promenades Gatineau isn't long for this world.

[MolsonExport]

Malls without department stores usually become malls depleted of high-end retailers, hastening the transition away from retail.

Does Gatineau have a second HBC store?

[Acajack]

Malls without department stores usually become malls depleted of high-end retailers, hastening the transition away from retail.

Does Gatineau have a second HBC store?

No, it's our only one. Les Promenades also has a Simons, if you count that as a department store. It seems to be doing quite well. My wife and kids shop at Simons all the time, but almost never set foot in The Bay. So Les Promenades will probably be OK without it, if it closes. Even if it will be a huge hole to fill. (Probably spurring some non-retail development there eventually.)

Department stores are of course a dying breed everywhere. We used to have a Sears at Les Galeries de Hull. That left a huge hole and the entire mall suffered. The space has been partly filled by L'Aubainerie (affordable clothing retailer) but now there are plans to gradually demolish that mall segment-by-segment, replacing most of the mall retail footprint with residential.

[MolsonExport]

ah, well that is a good consolation prize (Simons, of which sadly, there are none in London...we have two HBC locations towards the North-South ends of the city). Our "third" major (double storey) mall, Westmount, died a quick death once it was vacated by Sears (at one end) and Target (formerly, Zellers) at the other end. It now specializes as a place for Seniors to do their daily 'mall-walking' programs. The second floor is 100% bereft of retail; the first floor is perhaps 25% occupied with shitty retail (no chains, other than the local sort, and Tims/Bulk Barrel). Our "fourth" multi-storey mall started dying in the 1990s (it was a downtown, Campeau-corp mall, with very upscale stores when it opened), and became a sad ghost town after the Department stores (first Eatons, then the Bay) left. It now looks like this:

https://www.londontourism.ca/mediafiles/mediagallery/Citi-Plaza2.jpg

[zahav]

I hope the Bay stabilizes again, they had a decent period before Covid where it seemed to be not sinking quite as much, they had some forward momentum, moreso than lots of other department stores in North America. But not it seems full steam back, to avoid implosion. Losing so many locations in the prairie cities is sad, for them to have no stores outside Saskatoon is weird, their history was so tied to the prairies (not in the best way sadly, but still). They will have 1 location in all of SK. Yet somehow they have 3 locations on Vancouver Island, and 4 in the Okanagan still. They have to just be watching leases as they come up and use that as their guide? Sad :(

[ericmacm]

I have been with Freedom since the WIND days. I'm mostly in downtown Vancouver, so YMMV but my experience has been pretty good. For years it was 2nd tier but still well worth the savings. Now my wife and I pay $75 after tax for 2 lines at 30gigs, more than we'd ever need, 5G, and we roam on other networks for no charge when we don't have Freedom service. :)

I had also been with Freedom since WIND up until probably 5 or 6 years ago. It worked fine when I lived in Mississauga as a teenager, but when I moved to Windsor for university the service just didn’t work in the rural areas where I was doing my co-op terms and had to switch. I am looking forward to switching back in the future.

[Djeffery]

I had also been with Freedom since WIND up until probably 5 or 6 years ago. It worked fine when I lived in Mississauga as a teenager, but when I moved to Windsor for university the service just didn’t work in the rural areas where I was doing my co-op terms and had to switch. I am looking forward to switching back in the future.

I ended up going back with Bell (mainly because I was taking a plan that came with a new phone and they were strangely enough the easiest to deal with online with my EPP. I was with Telus and even as a current customer, I had to jump through hoops with the EPP). I ended up switching one of my kids' phones over to Public Mobile, which is Telus, and got him on a 50 or 60 GB Canada/US plan for $34/month. He hasn't had any issues, and since my other kid and my wife aren't on contract anymore, I'm debating switching them over as well.

[1overcosc]

I was willing to give Freedom a look when I was searching new plans over Christmas. Had a look at their coverage map and was less than impressed. I live in Woodstock Ont, and we are in their 4G LTE zone. Meanwhile the sparsely populated farm country immediately east and north east of the city is in the 5G zone. This includes about 8 of the very few km of 401 that has 5G with them from Windsor to west of Toronto.

That's my problem with them right now. The plans are great but the coverage doesn't work for me. If they had at least the 4G LTE MVNO coverage in rural areas I would be okay with it, but we aren't there yet. They are slowly rolling out their MVNO coverage in other parts of the country (just recently happened in Ottawa, and the Manitoba service will also be through MVNO) so I'm hoping that they can make some more progress on that front in the near future. The $35/mo 50 GB US-CA plan is really tempting.

I've been with Freedom for almost a decade, and I spent a lot of time out camping, hiking, etc. in very rural areas (ie. north of Hwy 7 in east-central Ontario) and honestly, the phone works perfectly fine out there.

The rural coverage is pretty seemless. Since the Videotron takeover, Freedom plans don't have any extra fees for going out of their service areas like they used to.

[Maldive]

39 of an eventual 50 foodie vendors and the market are now open at The Well.


The Well | 174.03m | 46s | RioCan | Hariri Pontarini l nearing completion/market opens

https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/attachments/img_3182-jpg.567885/
Justelena (https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/attachments/img_3182-jpg.567885/)

The Wellington Market (nicknamed “Well Fed”) just opened a couple of days ago with 38 of an eventual 50 vendors offering myriad options to foodies, and it’s already a big hit.

https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/attachments/img_3605-jpeg.567930/
interchange42 (https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/attachments/img_3605-jpeg.567930/)
https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/attachments/img_3608-jpeg.567933/
interchange42 (https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/attachments/img_3608-jpeg.567933/)

Free samples were everywhere.

https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/attachments/img_3611-jpeg.567936/
interchange42 (https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/attachments/img_3611-jpeg.567936/)
https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/attachments/img_3613-jpeg.567939/
interchange42 (https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/attachments/img_3613-jpeg.567939/)
https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/attachments/img_3631-jpeg.567943/
interchange42 (https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/attachments/img_3631-jpeg.567943/)
https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/attachments/img_3637-jpeg.567944/
interchange42 (https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/attachments/img_3637-jpeg.567944/)
https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/attachments/img_3638-jpeg.567945/
interchange42 (https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/attachments/img_3638-jpeg.567945/)
https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/attachments/img_3639-jpeg.567946/
interchange42 (https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/attachments/img_3639-jpeg.567946/)
https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/attachments/img_3643-jpeg.567948/
interchange42 (https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/attachments/img_3643-jpeg.567948/)

Smaller vendor spots are also included for entrepreneurial foodie start-ups.

https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/attachments/img_3612-jpeg.567958/
interchange42 (https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/attachments/img_3612-jpeg.567958/)
https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/attachments/img_3629-jpeg.567961/
interchange42 (https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/attachments/img_3629-jpeg.567961/)
https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/attachments/img_3644-jpeg.567962/
interchange42 (https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/attachments/img_3644-jpeg.567962/)

The Pier Bar.

https://cdn.skyrisecities.com/sites/default/files/images/articles/2024/05/56139/56139-171849.jpg
UT (https://cdn.skyrisecities.com/sites/default/files/images/articles/2024/05/56139/56139-171849.jpg)

Isabella sold out her beloved donuts in no time.

https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/attachments/img_3655-jpeg.567966/
interchange42 (https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/attachments/img_3655-jpeg.567966/)
https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/attachments/img_3656-jpeg.567949/
interchange42 (https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/attachments/img_3656-jpeg.567949/)
https://cdn.skyrisecities.com/image/gPfUJVakkX.jpeg
rdaner (https://cdn.skyrisecities.com/image/gPfUJVakkX.jpeg)
https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/attachments/img_0647-jpeg.566112/
RyanD (https://urbantoronto.ca/forum/attachments/img_0647-jpeg.566112/)

[whatnext]

I have been with Freedom since the WIND days. I'm mostly in downtown Vancouver, so YMMV but my experience has been pretty good. For years it was 2nd tier but still well worth the savings. Now my wife and I pay $75 after tax for 2 lines at 30gigs, more than we'd ever need, 5G, and we roam on other networks for no charge when we don't have Freedom service. :)

Having been with Freedom a few years ago I was shocked at how poor their coverage was in many areas of Metro Vancouver. Maybe it’s improved.