[St. John's] Retail Thread

[cdotr]

Originally Posted by Arrakis

Just drove by Toys "R" Us on Kenmount Road and they have "Store Closing" signs posted in their front windows. I figured this was inevitable unfortunately. They have been struggling in Canada and closing down stores across the country. It's too bad to see it go and people losing their jobs.

Now I wonder what could go in that large and very lucrative space which is run by Crombie Properties who also own Avalon Mall or will they chop it up into smaller retail spaces? Be interesting to see what happens.

Too bad. I enjoyed Toys R Us. Unfortunately leaves us with on Walmart for local toys and similar. They had a lot of good things for babies etc as well. I guess Walmart and Amazon have killed all Canadian retail.

Its too bad we don't have a Canadian alternative to Walmart. And the worst is that leaves us with a Walmart monopoly that can charge whatever they want. Sad sad days...

[MonctonRad]

Last store in Atlantic Canada. It was inevitable.

[Offshore1]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Last store in Atlantic Canada. It was inevitable.

I didn't realize that was the case until I was in Halifax about a month before Christmas. I'd fully expected to have an option, other than Walmart, for Toys.

[detroitdan1982]

Originally Posted by MonctonRad

Last store in Atlantic Canada. It was inevitable.

Is the one in Fredericton closed? We were there in August and it was pretty well stocked and seemed pretty busy. Sad that the one here is closing. Been here for close to 30 years!

[DyAm00394]

Originally Posted by detroitdan1982

Is the one in Fredericton closed? We were there in August and it was pretty well stocked and seemed pretty busy. Sad that the one here is closing. Been here for close to 30 years!

It permanently closed shortly after Christmas.

[NewfBC]

Toys R Us was another Doug Putnam attempt to 'save' a business. He also took over the Bed Bath and Beyond locations with Rooms and Spaces stores (there was one in the Village). Most of his ventures 'fail' .. though I'm sure he manages to get the leases at deep discounts or in some cases doesn't pay rent at all.

Ron.

[NLResident]

End of an era for Toys R Us in the St. John's area. Also on Plaza Reit website, it shows a lease pending in the former Payless Shoes spot

[detroitdan1982]

Apparently the Dominion on Lake Avenue will be closing in the coming months, as per an email sent out by the executive director of Cygnus Gymnastics

[Offshore1]

Originally Posted by detroitdan1982

Apparently the Dominion on Lake Avenue will be closing in the coming months, as per an email sent out by the executive director of Cygnus Gymnastics

I was there a few days ago and noticed the liquor store is closed. I'd seen some empty shelves as I passed by on a previous visit but didn't think anything of it at the time.

[wmemeadusjr]

Originally Posted by detroitdan1982

Apparently the Dominion on Lake Avenue will be closing in the coming months, as per an email sent out by the executive director of Cygnus Gymnastics

It was never a great location. It was difficult to get in and out of...car wise and far from the two other locations it replaced. The escalators were always broken. The place quickly became run down.

[Arrakis]

With the pending closure now of Toys “R” Us and Memorial Dominion, that opens up two very large retail spaces. What could be a good replacement for those spaces down the road I wonder? I guess it could a lot of different things at this point. Perhaps even chop the spaces up into smaller floorplans. Might be good location for an ice rink. lol.

[Arrakis]

Here’s something that’s kinda interesting. The new owners of Zellers are planning a national expansion after premiering a new Zellers store in Edmonton recently. It’s a smaller type store at around 30,000 to 40,000 sq ft. Perhaps the old Toy R Us space or the memorial Dominion space could possibly become a new Zellers in the future.
Here’s the link:
https://retail-insider.com/retail-in...dmonton-debut/

[cdotr]

Originally Posted by Arrakis

Here’s something that’s kinda interesting. The new owners of Zellers are planning a national expansion after premiering a new Zellers store in Edmonton recently. It’s a smaller type store at around 30,000 to 40,000 sq ft. Perhaps the old Toy R Us space or the memorial Dominion space could possibly become a new Zellers in the future.
Here’s the link:
https://retail-insider.com/retail-in...dmonton-debut/

That's a really good idea. I've heard some people suggest Colemans should take over the Memorial Dominion which I like as well, however it may be too close to the Newfoundland Dr location and Belbins which I believe they own. They may be more niche market though. I figure they might close the Newfoundland Drive location if they did this.

I think this is really short sighted on the part of Loblaws given all the planned development in the Pleasantville area, they would be right on the door step and I would expect they would only stand to gain as people from the area would likely shop there instead of Sobeys Howley or Dominion on Stavanger... Maybe they aren't even clued in on all that potential development.

[J_Murphy]

Originally Posted by cdotr

That's a really good idea. I've heard some people suggest Colemans should take over the Memorial Dominion which I like as well, however it may be too close to the Newfoundland Dr location and Belbins which I believe they own. They may be more niche market though. I figure they might close the Newfoundland Drive location if they did this.

I think this is really short sighted on the part of Loblaws given all the planned development in the Pleasantville area, they would be right on the door step and I would expect they would only stand to gain as people from the area would likely shop there instead of Sobeys Howley or Dominion on Stavanger... Maybe they aren't even clued in on all that potential development.

That could work in Toys R Us I think, but Dominion doesn't seem like a good location for a Zellers. A few commenters on Reddit said they heard that Dominion was being converted to a No Frills, which seems to make sense to me. I hope that's the case anyway, as it would be a shame to lose a supermarket in this area.

[wmemeadusjr]

Loblaws has already said that they are NOT converting the Stadium Dominion into a No Frills. The Liquor Store has already shut down and Cygnus is getting the boot as well. My guess is that they plan to have it completely empty and leave it dormant like so many other properties they've owned or rented in the past. They have the bucks to sit on it indefinitely. Maybe when Pleasantville turns into a bustling, densely packed neighborhood, they may even consider re-opening it. Demographics and traffic patterns change. Look at the Village Mall, Loblaw didn't renew their 25 year lease with Dominion in 2003.....only 22 years later, to return to the exact same space with No Frills.

[Tocchet22]

Steel is erected for the new No Frills supermarket in Paradise Plaza. Ownership of this property changed from ALRE to Skyline Retail late 2025. New owner website confirms it:

https://www.skylineretailreit.ca/pro...-topsail-road/

Unknown if current No Frills in Elizabeth Park will remain open.

[wmemeadusjr]

Originally Posted by Tocchet22

Steel is erected for the new No Frills supermarket in Paradise Plaza. Ownership of this property changed from ALRE to Skyline Retail late 2025. New owner website confirms it:

https://www.skylineretailreit.ca/pro...-topsail-road/

Unknown if current No Frills in Elizabeth Park will remain open.

I've been hearing that Planet Fitness will take the Elizabeth Park No Frills when they move to their new location.

[NLResident]

Avalon Mall on the crombie website has been updated. It shows a new business opening beside cibc. Logo to small to read. Also the old Golden Phoenix building removed.

[BruceChafe]

Originally Posted by NLResident

Avalon Mall on the crombie website has been updated. It shows a new business opening beside cibc. Logo to small to read. Also the old Golden Phoenix building removed.

I believe it’s the Stacked logo, same as what opened a few months ago on White Rose.

I think there was a rumour of it going there as well.

[DyAm00394]

Originally Posted by BruceChafe

I believe it’s the Stacked logo, same as what opened a few months ago on White Rose.

I think there was a rumour of it going there as well.

It's showing on their website as "coming soon": https://www.stackedpancakehouse.ca/find-a-restaurant