Benito
Senior Member
A bit more stone and some new glazing along Charles St West.
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Benito
Senior Member
2 Bloor West ongoing work.
pw20
Active Member
Miznon, an israeli restaurant chain, is opening on Bay Street, north of Bloor on the East Side.
zang
Senior Member
In the former Gap location? The only other places I might think where it might go along there is Josephson's Opticians or Planta—both of which, AFAIK are still in business. That or *shudder* Cumberland Terrace.
pw20
Active Member
1235 Bay!
AlbertC
Superstar
Pet Valu will be opening in the unit just north of Miznon at 1235 Bay:
Benito
Senior Member
Charles Street Promenade.
zang
Senior Member
Interesting that all those storefronts are being turned into one unit. Makes me wonder if it's going to be a small grocery store. Wouldn't surprise me if the small H-Mart across the street weren't upgrading to bigger digs.
Or maybe Shoppers just wants to saturate the area even further...
Also, the last picture is a sad reminder of how much I miss Green Mango. This location was once so popular, they had to open a storefront across the street (where Pizzaiolo is) to serve the takeout orders. The only Green Mango left now is way out in Etobicoke.
Towered
Superstar
And that one sucks now. It's a pale shadow of what it was a decade ago.
zang
Senior Member
That's a shame. Not that I'm out in Etobicoke much anyway. :/
Northern Light
Superstar
The only sign permits pulled are for Dollarama.
4 units show as available, none over 2,200ft2, not really suitable to grocery.
****
I miss Spring Rolls on that block, when they were still good, I really enjoyed their Singapore Noodles, they had some kick.
Benito
Senior Member
I would love it if a larger Asian market opened up in the area. The H Mart is good but needs to have even more selection.
zang
Senior Member
Likewise. The teeny H-Mart is no comparison to even the slightly larger one down just north of the Eaton Centre. And with the Galleria Express at Wellesley having taken out its hot counter, it's just not the same. Sometimes, you just want some hot tteokbokki and you want it now, y'know?
One of the very few ideas I think Toronto *should* be more eager to crib from NYC, it's the bodega. These smaller asian markets often bring it in their own way. One of my favourite walking detours is to the Galleria Express at Bloor & Huron. We pick up some of the groceries that aren't easily available—but should be, like decent Miso or Mirin—in larger stores in our Y&B area, stick them in a backpack and grab some fresh-made Taiyaki to snack on for the rest of the walk.These types of stores create a more walkable, better neighbourhood.
Primarily because they just cater to the masses, there's a missing middle-ground between large grocery store and convenience store, and everyone loses out.
Don't get me wrong; I love what Eataly brings to the neighbourhood, but it's not somewhere I feel I can pop into quickly (especially not anytime after 4pm). And Pusateri's reads like a boutique mockery of a bodega for the (lower-case) carriage trade.
Rabba has been relatively successful at riding a line of common-denominator/bodega, but I sometimes feel like they're headed in the direction of wanting to get bigger and more… generic.
H-mart as it is brings a bit of what I think the area can support, but it could definitely be bigger. I'd love an Indian- or Latin-style bodega in the area too—somewhere I could pick up some Parle-G cookies or a hot empanada, though Yonge & Bloor demographics probably don't bring enough latent support for that.
Northern Light
Superstar
Likewise. The teeny H-Mart is no comparison to even the slightly larger one down just north of the Eaton Centre. And with the Galleria Express at Wellesley having taken out its hot counter, it's just not the same. Sometimes, you just want some hot tteokbokki and you want it now, y'know?
One of the very few ideas I think Toronto *should* be more eager to crib from NYC, it's the bodega. These smaller asian markets often bring it in their own way. One of my favourite walking detours is to the Galleria Express at Bloor & Huron. We pick up some of the groceries that aren't easily available—but should be, like decent Miso or Mirin—in larger stores in our Y&B area, stick them in a backpack and grab some fresh-made Taiyaki to snack on for the rest of the walk.These types of stores create a more walkable, better neighbourhood.
Primarily because they just cater to the masses, there's a missing middle-ground between large grocery store and convenience store, and everyone loses out.
Don't get me wrong; I love what Eataly brings to the neighbourhood, but it's not somewhere I feel I can pop into quickly (especially not anytime after 4pm). And Pusateri's reads like a boutique mockery of a bodega for the (lower-case) carriage trade.
Rabba has been relatively successful at riding a line of common-denominator/bodega, but I sometimes feel like they're headed in the direction of wanting to get bigger and more… generic.
H-mart as it is brings a bit of what I think the area can support, but it could definitely be bigger. I'd love an Indian- or Latin-style bodega in the area too—somewhere I could pick up some Parle-G cookies or a hot empanada, though Yonge & Bloor demographics probably don't bring enough latent support for that.
This is a best-in-class Zang post. One that shows off the inner cosmopolitan foody.
***
On the subject of bodegas..... in NYC, beer sales drive a material portion of the economic model.
That is not to say more widespread beer sales would automatically create such a culture here; but I'm inclined to think it may play a role.
zang
Senior Member
While I don't think we need to replace the LCBO with private liquor sales, the beer store "monopoly" could seriously use a kick in the pants with more availability in smaller hands. And I don't even drink beer.