[Chronamut]

Originally Posted by Innsertnamehere

urban format grocery stores are far more expensive to construct so have to do really robust business to pencil out.

The wider downtown is generally already full of grocery stores, It's just that other than Nations they are all on the periphery of downtown (No Frills on Main East, Food Basics on Barton, Fortinos on Dundurn), so those brands likely don't see a market downtown as it would cannibalize sales from their existing retailers, which have lower overheads than a new-build urban format store would.

The only major grocer player not downtown right now is Sobeys (FreshCo) - who is growing their retail presence in Ontario right now as well. If I had to take a bet on who the next entrant would be, I would bet on an urban-format Farm Boy on the west end of Downtown or a FreshCo. Likely a Farm Boy as there is currently only one Farm Boy in all of Hamilton and Sobeys is busy rapidly expanding the brand right now.

If Bental Green Oak had a decent brain on their heads they would be looking for a grocer tenant in their 3 tower project beside Hess Village. It's on the higher income side of downtown, close to a lot of existing residents and far from existing grocers (other than Nations), on a major arterial, and is a large site which is needed to make grocery store tenants work (cheaper parking, large floorplates, etc.). They aren't though.. so we keep waiting.

Not true - Metro is in the east end of hamilton. I don't really consider the east end "downtown"..