^That's just want Sparks needs. It will be a great refresher from the tacky tourist stores there are now.

I was thinking that last time I was on Sparks Street. An awful lot of souvenir shops :haha:

A lot of stores could do really well in there. Is there much vacancy?

Proposed new Rexall Pharmacy on Montreal Rd.
 

Hot on the heels of the proposed Shopper's Drug Mart a few blocks down the street at 545 Montreal Rd. (see post), and just up the street from the Rexall/Pharma Plus at 594 Montreal Rd. comes a plan for another Rexall Pharmacy at 753 Montreal Rd., on the corner of Lang's Rd.

This should be a good site for them, as it is next door to the Monfort Hospital. They will be filling a lot of prescriptions, I'm sure.

The plan calls for the demolition of two existing buildings (the old Chef Pierre Restaurant and Belvedere Motel) and the construction of a single storey retail building having an area of 1086 square meters and 71 parking spaces.

Development docs:
http://app01.ottawa.ca/postingplans/...appId=__7M7N4R


Siteplan:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2435/...904e22_o_d.jpg


Existing site:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3632/...7e4054_o_d.jpg

When 90 George was being built, they told us there will be a Louis Vuitton and Victoria Secret opening. Now that it's done, I don't see LV or VS there...

There is still empty retail space in that building. What happened?

Imagine going into the elevator in your PJ's and walking into LV just to buy a bag :haha:

I am curious to see how often women in Ottawa buy $3000 dresses :cool: I give this store 6 months before they realize they are running out of business... But then again, Ottawa will only get merchandise from seasons ago in order to keep the prices lower. Also, any money smart lady knows that she can find the exact same thing in MTL at the outlet stores for even cheaper.

They also said it would be ready in 2007 if I remember correctly :)

It would be nice to see a new upmarket food retailer in the "Gourmet Grocery" space on the main floor of the George street side. Somehow I doubt Dean and Deluca is moving in.

And here I was hoping I'd see Felicity..

Not exactly news worthy but, what the heck, it's a slow day. Looks like Dairy Queen is moving into Westboro. Finally, something plebian, a bit of a relief from the yoga clothes and upscale stuff that has slowly pushed out the old mom-and-pop stores out of Richmond Road in the last few years. It's actually a good location for it at the closed off corner of Winston which can accommodate the long line ups that usually form in a DQ during the hot summer days

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2609/...b23dec51_b.jpg

Mmmm DQ...

So is that rumour about Simons opening up at St-Laurent still just a rumour. or is that going to happen?

Tim Hortons is opening up another location in Aylmer at Vanier/Lucerne... I can see the traffic jams now... Their location at Vanier/Alumettières added an extra lane to the Drive-thru.. probably because the daycare next door was complaining of idling vehicles backed up on the street adjacent to their outdoor playground.

That will be quite a contrast between the plebian roots of DQ versus the butchers/ice cream place to the north on that dead end street...can't remember the name of it, great ice cream but not cheap.

hopefully this link works.. video of new t&t store
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/news/vi...GiJ2Cql_dVm6pU

Rob Eade also has a blog topic with pictures about the new T&T store here.

A revised siteplan for the proposed Shopper's Drug Mart at 545 Montreal Rd. has been filed. Most notably, the attached medical clinic has been relocated to the front of the building:

http://app01.ottawa.ca/postingplans/...appId=__7JLAGU

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2500/...f8cb7e_o_d.jpg

Ottawa T&T Supermarket opens to huge crowds
Last Updated: Wednesday, October 28, 2009 | 3:20 PM ET Comments7Recommend29
CBC News
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/stor...wa-091028.html

http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/images/news/ph...ndt-banner.jpg
Some people outside the new store at 9 a.m. said they had been waiting two hours. The doors opened at 10:30 a.m. (Kate Porter/CBC)
Hundreds of people flooded Ottawa's first T&T Asian supermarket on its opening day, overflowing into a line that snaked toward the parking lot.

Some said they had waited since 7 a.m. so they could surge inside when the new 51,000 square-foot store at Hunt Club Road and Riverside Drive in Ottawa's south end welcomed its first customers at 10:30 a.m.

Carter Chin, Justin Ngo and Shirley Huang arrived more than two hours early, hoping to get one of the $10 gift cards being handed out to the first 200 people in the store. They said they were "super-excited" when they heard the store was coming to Ottawa.

"It's awesome. It sells everything, right? Like sushi and dim sum — everything you can get in a grocery store," said Huang. Previously, she said, she and her friends would make the long trip to the T&T in Toronto if they wanted to buy Asian foods.

The new store, which stocks a wide variety of Asian and Western groceries, was the 18th location to open in the popular chain, which was recently bought by Loblaws. The store includes a live seafood section, counters that sell a variety of Asian takeout and a Chinese bakery.

Soon after opening, the sprawling building was at capacity and people had to line up outside, as crowds of Asian Canadians continued to spill out of OC Transpo buses and family cars. Police directed traffic in and out of the parking lot.

Patrick Su, a funding co-ordinator with the Ottawa Chinese Community Service Centre and a member of the local Chinese media, said the fresh bakery and the availability of fresh Asian fruits that aren't at ordinary grocery stores make T&T very attractive to local Asian Canadians.

But he suggested that it could also hurt some Ottawa businesses.

"It's a one-stop shop for everything," he said. "People will shop here instead of Chinatown in the future."

Is the store that good, or are these people that crazy?

:previous: couldn't they just go to China town?

Personally, I wouldn't line up to go into any store...just like I won't line up to get into a bar. The hype of this place is unbelievable...it will still be there next week etc.

Wel, I went to the T&T this weekend, and I was somewhat disappointed. It seems like a soul-less, sanitized version of an Asian market. What I hated was the dimsum: it completely ruins the experience of the food, from service that is supposed to roam around randomly in carts, into something you line up for cafeteria-style only to have the food items literally dumped from the bamboo steamers into horrible styrofoam take out containers. It's terribly wasteful, seeing people walk off piles of non recyclable styrofoam, one for each order. They should at least switch to cardboard containers like the burger joints have.

I'm sticking to Chinatown from now on. I do hope, however, that this competition will encourage the Somerset merchants to spruce up a bit on maintenance.

I saw a sign last night that The Works will be opening a location near South Keys at Bank & Albion (in the location of the former KS Restaurant).

It is also listed on their web site: http://www.worksburger.com/locations.html