Winnipeg | Retail

[Authentic_City]

Speaking of abandoned 7-11s... is there something going on at the Ellice and Maryland former 7-11? Looked like some work was happening there last time I went past.

Also, I saw signage at the former Isabel and William 7-11 about some sort of coworking space. Is that happening there?

How many empty 7-11s are there now? Seems weird that they're opening new ones.

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by WinCitySparky

After they closed down like 10 what a joke. Shop local owned convenience stores people!

This is really nothing new. 7-11 has long followed a pattern of closing older stores and opening newer ones and not always to serve the same customer base. I would take a guess that Bridge *, Prairie Pointe, Sage Creek and the newer areas in the NW and NE are prime locations for these new stores.

[cllew]

Originally Posted by Authentic_City

Speaking of abandoned 7-11s... is there something going on at the Ellice and Maryland former 7-11? Looked like some work was happening there last time I went past.

Also, I saw signage at the former Isabel and William 7-11 about some sort of coworking space. Is that happening there?

How many empty 7-11s are there now? Seems weird that they're opening new ones.

The one in East Kildonan on Watt St. that was closed due to the lease renewal costing more than 7/11 wanted to pay is slowly being converted to a Domino's Pizza location.

[neutroniks]

Originally Posted by CoryB

This is really nothing new. 7-11 has long followed a pattern of closing older stores and opening newer ones and not always to serve the same customer base. I would take a guess that Bridge *, Prairie Pointe, Sage Creek and the newer areas in the NW and NE are prime locations for these new stores.

Bingo. Starbucks does the same thing. They close and open new locations probably every 4-5 years. 7-11 is just starting to do it more often, most likely.

[CoryB]

Originally Posted by neutroniks

Bingo. Starbucks does the same thing. They close and open new locations probably every 4-5 years. 7-11 is just starting to do it more often, most likely.

Some of the recently closed 7-11 go back 40+ years in the same location with very minimal renovations.

[trueviking]

Originally Posted by CoryB

This is really nothing new. 7-11 has long followed a pattern of closing older stores and opening newer ones and not always to serve the same customer base. I would take a guess that Bridge *, Prairie Pointe, Sage Creek and the newer areas in the NW and NE are prime locations for these new stores.

agreed...they have closed stores in central neighbourhoods where all their merchandise walks out the door in people's pockets all day....the new ones will be in neighbourhoods where people pay for things before leaving.

[Wpg_Guy]

Abercrombie & Fitch to open first Manitoba store in Polo Park
Venetian Nail Spa expands local footprint, T&T Supermarket rumour floats around at Winnipeg shopping hub
By: Aaron Epp
Wednesday, Mar. 11, 2026



If Peter Havens has learned anything from two decades of managing shopping centres, it’s that malls reinvent themselves.

“That’s really the name of the game in retail, is to keep it fresh,” said Havens, general manager of CF Polo Park.

Winnipeg’s largest mall is keeping it fresh this year with the addition of the province’s first Abercrombie & Fitch store. The 133-year-old lifestyle retailer will open a store in April or May in the main-floor space once occupied by Hollister.

“They’re excited to be in Winnipeg,” Havens said.

“That Abercrombie & Fitch concept is really on an upswing right now. That was popular when I was young, and it kind of ebbed and waned a little bit, and now it’s coming right back real strong with a lot of the younger demographic, which is great.”


Abercrombie & Fitch will open a store this spring in the main-floor space once occupied by Hollister said Peter Havens, general manager of CF Polo Park.

In addition to its eponymous stores, Ohio-based Abercrombie & Fitch Co. operates four offshoot brands: Abercrombie Kids, Your Personal Best, Hollister Co. and Gilly Hicks. The company operates more than 750 stores worldwide across its brands.

There are 11 Abercrombie & Fitch stores and four Abercrombie Kids locations across Canada, according to the company’s website.

Abercrombie & Fitch didn’t respond to an interview request on Wednesday.

Havens estimated that, at peak times, around 100 people will be employed in the 6,000-square-foot store. Meanwhile, Polo Park’s current Hollister store is moving to the mall’s second floor.

Abercrombie & Fitch isn’t the only new addition to the mall.

Venetian Nail Spa is opening a 2,500-sq.-ft. salon next month. It’s the local company’s third location; the first opened in Kildonan Place in 2021, and the second opened in St. Vital Centre the following year.


Hung Chau, Venetian Nail Spa’s director of operations (left), with Victor Chau, considers the new salon in Polo Park to be its flagship location.

Having a location in CF Polo Park is the fulfillment of a decade-long dream, said Hung Chau, Venetian Nail Spa’s director of operations and business development.

The shopping centres in Cadillac Fairview Corp.’s portfolio have long impressed Chau, and he first emailed the company in August 2015 to inquire about leasing space in Polo Park. Chau and his family, who own Venetian Nail Spa, signed a lease in May.

“It’s been a very longstanding mandate of ours to put a store in there,” Chau said. “It’s more so a personal achievement than just an expansion.”

The company, which employs about 70 people in total, considers the new salon to be its flagship location. It’s investing more money per square foot than it has at its other salons, Chau said.

He declined to specify how much the company is spending, but said the amount is “very significant.”

Shoppers walking through the mall’s centre court will currently see a big black wall covering a store space where construction is ongoing. Havens said he can’t name the company that will be moving into it, but it’s a retailer that is already in the mall and the move will happen later this year — potentially in November.

“We’re pretty excited for that,” Havens said.

It’s been rumoured in recent months that T&T Supermarket will set up shop in the mall. Havens said he could neither confirm nor deny the Asian grocery store chain will open its first Manitoba location in CF Polo Park.

Founded in Vancouver in 1993, T&T Supermarket operates 38 locations in Ontario, B.C., Quebec and Alberta. Loblaw Companies Ltd. acquired the chain in 2009.

A spokesperson for T&T Supermarket did not confirm if the company has plans to set up in Manitoba’s capital. “At the moment, we don’t have any updates to share regarding this location,” the spokesperson said in an email.

It’s been 10 months since Hudson’s Bay Co. shuttered its stores nationwide, including its three-storey, 220,000-sq.-ft. CF Polo Park location.

As of right now, no one is leasing the space, but the mall is working with a few potential clients, Havens said.

“It’s a big space to fill and Canada doesn’t have many large anchor tenants like (the Bay) anymore,” he said, adding the space could potentially be renovated and divided into smaller units, like when the mall’s former Sears location was redeveloped to include EQ3 and Zara stores.

Last fall, five local businesses set up kiosks in front of what used to be the mall entrance to the Bay: Sanden, Anziety, Primos Toys, iMprint Promotion and Pink Girl Nails.

Natalie Riccardo started clothing and jewelry retailer Anziety as an online business in 2019. She opened her kiosk in CF Polo Park at the beginning of September and she is preparing to open her flagship store at 545 Academy Rd. later this month.

“Being in a big … mall is truly a surreal feeling and it was scary, but so rewarding,” she said. “Everyone just made me feel like I belong there.”

Graeme Keam reached a longtime goal when he opened his Primo Toys kiosk in the mall in October.

“I’ve been trying to get into Polo Park for pretty much ever,” said Keam, who started his business in 2004 and also has stores in Kildonan Place and Grant Park Shopping Centre.

“If you’ve made it into Polo Park, at least you’re somewhat Winnipeg famous and then you’ve made it.”

Havens said CF Polo Park added the kiosks in an effort to “animate” that end of the mall with local vendors in the lead up to Christmas. The majority stayed after the holidays.

“Putting things in front of the Bay entrance has really helped liven it up a little bit,” he said.

Meanwhile, Foot Locker reopened on the second floor of the mall last month, following a significant renovation. More changes are ahead, as Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo is set to open a store in the mall this spring.

Between 2,500 and 3,000 people work in CF Polo Park, which receives 11.5 million visitors annually, Havens said.

Winnipeg Free Press

[bon_vivant]

Walked past that nail spa in St. Vital a while back. OMG so tacky and blindingly bright. I hope customers get complimentary sunglasses with their visit.

[Malcsta]

Anyone know when Uniqlo is poised to open? They said Spring, correct?

[neutroniks]

That's super quick if it's this Spring. I feel like they just announced it, but to be fair, I haven't been to Polo since Christmas.

[Highwayman]

Originally Posted by neutroniks

That's super quick if it's this Spring. I feel like they just announced it, but to be fair, I haven't been to Polo since Christmas.

The st vital one is opening spring. Its been under construction all winter.

[Biff]

Originally Posted by Malcsta

Anyone know when Uniqlo is poised to open? They said Spring, correct?

2nd level on the west side where the entrance to Sears used to be (by the food court). Basically right above Zara.

They have been working on it for a while now.

[Wpg_Guy]

Tapping into community connections
Ukrainian Guide to Winnipeg directory puts focus on 138 (and counting) area businesses, services run by Ukrainians
Saturday, Mar. 14, 2026
By: Scott Billeck

A new online directory brings together Ukrainian-owned businesses and service providers in Winnipeg.

The brainchild of Mila Shykota, a provincial government worker who immigrated to Winnipeg in 2022 after Russia invaded her native Ukraine, the directory features 138 businesses — a number she says she adds to every day.

“I came up with the idea a year ago, when I initiated a project at work celebrating our diversity, since our team is very multicultural,” Shykota said on Friday.


Sushi Point owner Olha Vovkotrub outside her restaurant at 238 Portage Ave. The eatery is listed on a new community project that features 138 local businesses, all operated by Ukrainians.

She invited co-workers to represent their own country in some way, be it cuisine, culture or heritage. She said when she was preparing her own presentation, she decided to collect data on all of the Ukrainian restaurants and souvenir boutiques in Winnipeg so her colleagues could experience her culture.

An idea was born, and on Feb. 1, the online Ukrainian Guide to Winnipeg went live. (The project also runs Facebook and Instagram pages of the same name that highlight community life. A link to the guide’s website, which isn’t searchable on Google yet, can be found on both social media accounts.)

Anna Bieliaha, a real estate agent at Real Brokers, is on the list.

She says among many Ukrainian groups in Winnipeg, the same questions often come up.

“Can you recommend me a pedicure? Can you recommend me a hair stylist? Can you recommend a realtor?” she said.

The platform lists 138 businesses in 28 categories, including home improvement, restaurants and cafés, beauty services, handicrafts, homemade food, real estate, automotive services, health care, photography and more. Users can search for services using keywords.

Each business has a profile page that includes contact information, photos, maps, social media links, tags and customer reviews. The descriptions are written in both English and Ukrainian.

The directory, which has had more than 2,000 searches since it launched, has been helpful for Bieliaha, whose life changed in many ways after she arrived in Winnipeg in October 2022.

She soon met her future husband, Alex, who also came from Ukraine and had lived in Kyiv, too.

“In a relatively short time, our lives have grow in ways we could have never imagined,” Bieliaha said by phone from Mexico while on a family vacation.

Bieliaha, who had been a real estate agent in Ukraine for seven years, had to start from scratch when she arrived in Canada. She spotted a large promotional billboard seeking agents and reached out to ask about a job. When she didn’t receive a reply, she took a position as a manager at a Winnipeg beauty salon.

When that job switched to part-time, she left and worked at a recruitment firm.

“During this time, I started to understand that I really need to go in my own direction, with something I really know how to do,” she said.

Canada’s homebuying market is different from Ukraine, she said, and the transition was daunting. In Kyiv, she had an established client base. She also knew the money would not come quickly.

To supplement her income in those early days, she began making instructional real estate videos on social media — posting on Instagram, YouTube and TikTok in both her native language and English.

“It was hard. I had a six-month-old baby at the time,” she said.


The salmon California roll at Sushi Point.

She recognized the need for a Ukrainian-speaking agent, especially as more than 30,000 Ukrainians have immigrated to Winnipeg since 2022. Gradually, she built up a client base.

After obtaining her licence in May 2025, the hard work began to pay off. Bieliaha said she gained five clients right away and sold her first home within her first week. She has since closed 18 deals.

“It’s not the best I can do,” she said. “But I have a 22-month-old baby. I have a husband and I need to see him sometimes. So I think it’s good results.”

Olha Vovkotrub arrived in Winnipeg with her husband and daughter in 2022, with a dream of one day opening her own restaurant.

She said there wasn’t a lot of local Ukrainian community information available when her family arrived — something the new directory helps to address.

“We have a lot of experience in business, be we think and know Ukrainian metrics,” she said.

Vovkotrub’s dream became reality in 2023, when she opened Sushi Point at 238 Portage Ave.

“We started an advertising business here and I wanted to open my restaurant,” she said. “My husband supported me, and I run the restaurant myself.”

The restaurant employs a staff of Ukrainians, many of whom have experience in the sushi business.

And why sushi? Vovkotrub said she couldn’t find the Ukrainian taste when she arrived here.

“We found that tastes in Canada and Ukraine were different,” she said. “We have different products and tastes. So we decided to open our sushi bar to have our tasty sushi every day.”

Winnipeg Free Press

[CoryB]

When I was recently at Polo Park I noticed construction fencing up east of the old Moffat communications building. That could be a good location for a TnT store unless they are planning a full demo and new build of the Eaton's store.

[pspeid]

Originally Posted by trueviking

agreed...they have closed stores in central neighbourhoods where all their merchandise walks out the door in people's pockets all day....the new ones will be in neighbourhoods where people pay for things before leaving.

I was wondering if grocers in these areas might want to adopt a format more like the old Consumer's Distributing/ MLCC model? All product is behind a counter, shoppers pick their purchases from a list and the purchase is bagged by store employees. The bag doesn't get passed over to the purchaser until payment is made.

It wouldn't work as much for fresh cuts of meat or deli products but in those cases product would have to be paid for before being passed to the customer.

I terms of expense it might actually cost a grocer less than having to stock and display items on shelves. Security could be one guy behind the counter with the staff.

Of course some would find this "insulting", especially more left-leaning folks who don't actually live in the areas we would be talking about. However, it means a food desert actually gets stocked with affordable food items and the folks willing to pay don't get penalized for their location.

[neutroniks]

Originally Posted by CoryB

When I was recently at Polo Park I noticed construction fencing up east of the old Moffat communications building. That could be a good location for a TnT store unless they are planning a full demo and new build of the Eaton's store.

I was always hoping the old Sobeys on Keewaitin would be a good spot for the first T&T with the high density of Asian & South Asian population in the North West part of the city. But apparently its becoming a Freshco now

[Biff]

Originally Posted by pspeid

I was wondering if grocers in these areas might want to adopt a format more like the old Consumer's Distributing/ MLCC model? All product is behind a counter, shoppers pick their purchases from a list and the purchase is bagged by store employees. The bag doesn't get passed over to the purchaser until payment is made.

It wouldn't work as much for fresh cuts of meat or deli products but in those cases product would have to be paid for before being passed to the customer.

I terms of expense it might actually cost a grocer less than having to stock and display items on shelves. Security could be one guy behind the counter with the staff.

Of course some would find this "insulting", especially more left-leaning folks who don't actually live in the areas we would be talking about. However, it means a food desert actually gets stocked with affordable food items and the folks willing to pay don't get penalized for their location.

Similar to what you said, why couldn't it work like going to a butcher. Everything is behind the counter. I guess the limitations are that you generally need more staff to alleviate big lines. They obviously need to try something else because I can't imagine that they can continue with all the theft.

[bomberjet]

Speaking of butchers. I noticed Sausagemakers (Central Meats) on Nairn at Grey was boarded up when I went by this weekend. I didn't go there weekly or anything. But was my go-to for steaks and such. Sad to see they're closed (presumably) after decades of operation. Hoping it's just a reno or something happened to the store front.

[cheswick]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

Speaking of butchers. I noticed Sausagemakers (Central Meats) on Nairn at Grey was boarded up when I went by this weekend. I didn't go there weekly or anything. But was my go-to for steaks and such. Sad to see they're closed (presumably) after decades of operation. Hoping it's just a reno or something happened to the store front.

They posted an hour ago to their facebook and it sounds like its business as usual.

https://www.facebook.com/sausagemakers

When they do close down I have dibs on the cows.

[cllew]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

Speaking of butchers. I noticed Sausagemakers (Central Meats) on Nairn at Grey was boarded up when I went by this weekend. I didn't go there weekly or anything. But was my go-to for steaks and such. Sad to see they're closed (presumably) after decades of operation. Hoping it's just a reno or something happened to the store front.

I wonder if was an attempted smash the windows and raid the meat display?

The Safeway in the River East Plaza apparently had 2 grab and goes on Sunday morning before 11am. Once when the store opened and the same people came back about 60 minutes later for a second load from the meat display