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Downtown Grocery Store List (current + proposed)

Distance from Boutique Condos to Spadina and Baldwin (cheap groceries in Chinatown and Kensington Market): 1.6km

Distance from " " to St Lawrence Market: 1.6km

Distance from " " to Fresh and Wild at King and Spadina: 1.0km

Distance from " " to Longo's, Bay and Dundas St West: 1.0km

Distance from " " to soon-to-open Longo's at Maple Leaf Square, York and Bremner: .8 km

Distance from " " to NPS Farmers' Market (June-October info here: http://www.toronto.ca/special_events/wednesdays/2010/index.htm): .5 km.

Distance from " " to future giant Loblaws at Queen and Portland: 1.3km

Distance from my apartment at Bloor and Oakmount to Dundas and Pacific No Frills (my usual grocery store, although sometimes I go to Runnymede and Bloor location, which is same distance but involves walking up and down hills): 1.6km.

Hmm. Very strange, eh? (And I walk to my grocery store and back once a week. Takes me 12 minutes to get there.)
 
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At Bay and College, we're definitely under-served - at least until the Loblaws is built. But there is nothing I hate more than going three or four times a week to a crowded store and wait in line, which is why I use Grocery Gateway most of the time.

Medium-size stores are fine if they are well maintained. Longos usually are. Once I went to Metro at College Park and they were out of celery. Celery!! On the other hand, they did have chestnut paste!
 
Distance from Boutique Condos to Spadina and Baldwin (cheap groceries in Chinatown and Kensington Market): 1.6km

Distance from " " to St Lawrence Market: 1.6km

Distance from " " to Fresh and Wild at King and Spadina: 1.0km

Distance from " " to Longo's, Bay and Dundas St West: 1.0km

Distance from " " to soon-to-open Longo's at Maple Leaf Square, York and Bremner: .8 km

Distance from " " to NPS Farmers' Market (June-October info here: http://www.toronto.ca/special_events/wednesdays/2010/index.htm): .5 km.

Distance from " " to future giant Loblaws at Queen and Portland: 1.3km

Distance from my apartment at Bloor and Oakmount to Dundas and Pacific No Frills (my usual grocery store, although sometimes I go to Runnymede and Bloor location, which is same distance but involves walking up and down hills): 1.6km.

Hmm. Very strange, eh? (And I walk to my grocery store and back once a week. Takes me 12 minutes to get there.)

Clearly the inappropriately named Boutique condos are almost at grocery central and if the St Lawrence Market is 1.6 km then the Metros on both Front and Gould must be closer too. Time for a bit of walking and less webbing perhaps? :->
 
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At Bay and College, we're definitely under-served - at least until the Loblaws is built. But there is nothing I hate more than going three or four times a week to a crowded store and wait in line, which is why I use Grocery Gateway most of the time.

Medium-size stores are fine if they are well maintained. Longos usually are. Once I went to Metro at College Park and they were out of celery. Celery!! On the other hand, they did have chestnut paste!

Metro at College Park bring limited supply of limited items -- in the morning. By the afternoon/late afternoon, most of the greens are gone. Management has not been able to solve the logistics of restocking grocery area/shelves during the day. Depending upon which way I am walking, I quite often shop at Longos on Dundas and Elizabeth or Sobey's on Yonge just below Wellesley. I am waiting for Loblaws to open on Carleton Street.
 
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Distance from Boutique Condos to Spadina and Baldwin (cheap groceries in Chinatown and Kensington Market): 1.6km

Distance from " " to St Lawrence Market: 1.6km

Distance from " " to Fresh and Wild at King and Spadina: 1.0km

Distance from " " to Longo's, Bay and Dundas St West: 1.0km

Distance from " " to soon-to-open Longo's at Maple Leaf Square, York and Bremner: .8 km

Distance from " " to NPS Farmers' Market (June-October info here: http://www.toronto.ca/special_events/wednesdays/2010/index.htm): .5 km.

Distance from " " to future giant Loblaws at Queen and Portland: 1.3km

Distance from my apartment at Bloor and Oakmount to Dundas and Pacific No Frills (my usual grocery store, although sometimes I go to Runnymede and Bloor location, which is same distance but involves walking up and down hills): 1.6km.

Hmm. Very strange, eh? (And I walk to my grocery store and back once a week. Takes me 12 minutes to get there.)
I do not shop at Longos or Fresh & Wild. I am not rich by any means and can not afford their prices. Farmers market at NPS is pretty crappy and is not a substitute for a grocery store.
Try again.
 
^Did anyone force you to live at Boutique?

It's a bit like people living near an airport complaining of noise and shows how important it is to look at not only the building but the neighbourhood and its amenities too. Great buildings can be in the wrong place (for you) though in a fast-developing urban environment like the area of King/Queen west, City Place and the Entrertainment District I suspect amenities like large grocery stores will arrive when the population base increases. 20-25 years ago there were no grocery stores in the St Lawrence area (except the Market and a No Frills on Sherbourne, since closed). Now we can barely walk a block without one and yet another is opening in the old Sun building.
 
It replaces Price Chopper. There's a good article about it in a recent Report on Business magazine. Basically, a groovier No Frills but with a larger selection of cheeses, produce, an increased focus on their new private label brand and iirc, a small deli counter. Sounds interesting. Thank god Sobey's came to their senses here, as a typical Sobey's would be foolish in Regent Park. Apparently they're copying Ikea in their CONTROLLED FLOW model--it forces the customer to pass every department, including a small ethnic food aisle section catered to the community the store serves, on the way to the cashier/exit.
 
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Apparently they're copying Ikea in their CONTROLLED FLOW model--it forces the customer to pass every department, including a small ethnic food aisle section catered to the community the store serves, on the way to the cashier/exit.

Personally I don't consider this a good thing.
 
^^^ Tell me about it. Grocery stores downtown can get quite chaotic. The last thing I want to do is be herded around the store. Once I find what I need, I want a quick route to the exit.

I also don't like the "increased focus on the store brand". This is usually done by taking away shelf-space from cheaper discount brands that are often of identical quality.
 

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