General Retail News

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by kwoldtimer

Was into Carlingwood today and noticed a new bubble tea place and a small new furniture store (!). The Tim Horton's has closed for renovations.

I keep thinking of Carlingwood as a dead mall, but still seems to have a pulse. I imagine the new Canadian Tire is helping.

Is it though? They really went out of their way to keep it isolated from the mall. I can't believe how ridiculous the access is. The store is definitely focused 99% on people parking in front of it.

[Spoonsy]

i've been to that CT 50 times and i've never once gone into the mall after. isn't canadian tire the type of store you go to with a clear goal in mind? like you go there to buy engine oil or a snow shovel and then you go home. are people buying 0W20 and carrying it over to SoftMoc?

i'm obviously generalizing, but, still

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by Spoonsy

i've been to that CT 50 times and i've never once gone into the mall after. isn't canadian tire the type of store you go to with a clear goal in mind? like you go there to buy engine oil or a snow shovel and then you go home. are people buying 0W20 and carrying it over to SoftMoc?

i'm obviously generalizing, but, still

Canadian Tire has a massive range of goods that can be cross shopped with the mall. Toys, electronics, household goods, and hundreds of others. engine oil and snow shovels are hardly representative of their offering.

[Spoonsy]

yes, anyone who thinks housewares and electronics at canadian tire are good value are probably the same type of people who browse physical shopping malls in 2023

[OTSkyline]

I'll sometimes walk over to Carlingwood, grab something for home repairs at CT, use the indoor connection to grab something at Dollarama and then head into the Loblaw's for a couple of ingredients for dinner - those are my 3 main mall attractions.

Glad there are indoor connections but yes, they're not the best or most direct.

[SidetrackedSue]

Originally Posted by Spoonsy

i've been to that CT 50 times and i've never once gone into the mall after. isn't canadian tire the type of store you go to with a clear goal in mind? like you go there to buy engine oil or a snow shovel and then you go home. are people buying 0W20 and carrying it over to SoftMoc?

There are people who combine their errands into one trip out so that they don't waste gas and time.

So CT, plus dollar store, plus loss leaders from Loblaws, plus picking up some Baklava, a bank deposit (I know, I know, but I refuse to put an app on my phone for the bank due to security), and a run across the parking lot to the library and that's a pretty successful errand outing.

[SidetrackedSue]

Originally Posted by stolenottawa

There's a DQ in the Glebe?

There's a DQ in Westboro too much to my shock. The time I went there in September, the little courtyard next to it was busy with people out enjoying the late summer evening and eating treats. So while I'm not a big fan of DQ ice cream, it was definitely helping breathe life into the streetscape there.

[Spoonsy]

Originally Posted by SidetrackedSue

There are people who combine their errands into one trip out so that they don't waste gas and time.

and I guess there are people like me who combine their errands at home through the internet to waste even less gas and time - and only use the car to buy stuff that is unreasonable to ship, like shovels and engine oil


always good to see other perspectives though. i guess i underestimate the brick and mortar crowd. not a lot of 'em in my circle.

[phil235]

Originally Posted by Spoonsy

and I guess there are people like me who combine their errands at home through the internet to waste even less gas and time - and only use the car to buy stuff that is unreasonable to ship, like shovels and engine oil


always good to see other perspectives though. i guess i underestimate the brick and mortar crowd. not a lot of 'em in my circle.

For me, I prefer bricks and mortar for two reasons - trying to be environmentally responsible and supporting my neighbourhood, as I like to keep my spending local wherever I can to make sure my neighbourhood continues to have all of those services.

[Alex613]

The parking lot in front of the mall is always full. Surprisingly, I've found that the lot in front of CT's Auto Shop is often sparse (on the other hand, the Auto Shop at CT's Heron/Bank location always seems to be busy).

[Spoonsy]

Little Italy grocer to close its doors in alcohol sale dispute with province
William Eltherington - CTV News - November 30 2023

A popular Italian grocery store in Ottawa's Little Italy is closing its doors after a dispute with the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario over the sale of alcohol.

Mercato Zacconi has been in business since 2021 and is one of the few grocery stores in the area.

The store says the closure will result in 40 employees losing their jobs.

Rest of article: https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/little-italy-g...hol-sale-dispute-with-province-1.6667827

in my opinion it started as a small grocery store, but in the end it was more of a specialty store

[Harley613]

Originally Posted by Spoonsy

in my opinion it started as a small grocery store, but in the end it was more of a specialty store

This guy's story is complete bullshit. The grocery stores with alcohol licenses make a buck a bottle, the LCBO makes the profit. The buck they make doesn't even cover the shelf space, but the LCBO has a 'take it or leave it' approach with the licenses. The larger stores treat it like a loss leader item: it cost them the space, but customers might prefer a one stop shop.

[Spoonsy]

this guy is really going HAM on getting the court of public opinion to save his liquor store

CBC article dropped today so now he's got Ottawa Citizen, CBC, and CTV all working the case

https://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/deachman-what-is-a-grocery-store

https://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/little-italy-g...hol-sale-dispute-with-province-1.6667827

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/on...s-rules-ottawa-grocery-closing-1.7046302

[YOWflier]

Originally Posted by Harley613

This guy's story is complete bullshit. The grocery stores with alcohol licenses make a buck a bottle, the LCBO makes the profit. The buck they make doesn't even cover the shelf space, but the LCBO has a 'take it or leave it' approach with the licenses. The larger stores treat it like a loss leader item: it cost them the space, but customers might prefer a one stop shop.

What's bullshit? He said “sales”, not “profit”.

[qprcanada]

Originally Posted by YOWflier

What's bullshit? He said “sales”, not “profit”.

Selling wine was definitely a draw as there is no LCBO on Preston St. I live in the area and it will be missed.

Little Italy is a bit of food desert with the planned grocery store cancelled.

Hopefully with the new condos and rentals coming on line both will appear soon.

[YOWflier]

I mean it’s right there in the post. Larger stores use the booze to drive traffic into the store. What do people think this guy was doing?

You go in for a bottle and while there you pick up some pasta, sauce, and bread for your next meal. Maybe some dessert. Maybe a couple meals’ worth. Maybe a few bottles. Next thing you know you’ve dropped $80. Maybe a bunch more. Erase the booze and maybe you’ve lost 20 customers a day who spent $80+ each. There’s your “up to $2000 in sales”. It’s not difficult to reconcile.

Anyway, he'll absorb the space back into Sala now that meeting/banquet business is back. Meanwhile the community is losing a much needed and cool shop. The loser won’t be him.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by YOWflier

I mean it’s right there in the post. Larger stores use the booze to drive traffic into the store. What do people think this guy was doing?

You go in for a bottle and while there you pick up some pasta, sauce, and bread for your next meal. Maybe some dessert. Maybe a couple meals’ worth. Maybe a few bottles. Next thing you know you’ve dropped $80. Maybe a bunch more. Erase the booze and maybe you’ve lost 20 customers a day who spent $80+ each. There’s your “up to $2000 in sales”. It’s not difficult to reconcile.

Anyway, he'll absorb the space back into Sala now that meeting/banquet business is back. Meanwhile the community is losing a much needed and cool shop. The loser won’t be him.

But the problem is he says he is not a grocery store and that he is a restaurant (which would be allowed to sell beer and wine to take out customers).

Don't get me wrong, I think Ontario's alcohol laws are ridiculous, but as long as those ridiculous rules are on the books then they should be enforced in a reasonably consistent manner.

[YOWflier]

That's a whole other discussion to the assertion that his statements were bullshit, which I reacted to.

But on that point, I think the line between between grocery store, restaurant, clothing/electronics/appliances/etc. retailer, was blurred long before Mercato came along. And besides, whether restaurant or grocery, it can be allowed anyway. There should have been a quiet resolution to this paving a viable path to compliance.

Theses could be written about laws on the books that aren't enforced, at all, or consistently. But yes, enforce (seriously).

Anyway, as I said he'll just roll the space back into Sala and keep going. Meanwhile the community loses a useful, unique store. I'm not so sure the public interest has been served.

[acottawa]

Originally Posted by YOWflier

That's a whole other discussion to the assertion that his statements were bullshit, which I reacted to.

But on that point, I think the line between between grocery store, restaurant, clothing/electronics/appliances/etc. retailer, was blurred long before Mercato came along. And besides, whether restaurant or grocery, it can be allowed anyway. There should have been a quiet resolution to this paving a viable path to compliance.

Theses could be written about laws on the books that aren't enforced, at all, or consistently. But yes, enforce (seriously).

Anyway, as I said he'll just roll the space back into Sala and keep going. Meanwhile the community loses a useful, unique store. I'm not so sure the public interest has been served.

That’s fine, but then clothing/electronic/appliance/convenience stores should be allowed to sell booze as well.

[YOWflier]

Many of them already are (not sure I got the point), and more should be able to. I’m generally supportive of the broadening of alcohol sales.