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News Roundup for December 8, 2025
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Re(flecte)d Dawn
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News on retail chains (was: New Mall Retail)

Richard White said:
From my understanding it's a cross between a Chinese Walmart and Temu
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The report i've been given is that Panda Mart is like if a Giant Tiger was the size of a Costco but with incredibly competitive pricing.

Line to enter was apparently the width of the exterior of the building this afternoon.
 
UT has news on the Marry Me Mochi chain scattered across multiple threads.

I'm going to pick up one older comment to start here and then provide some updates:

AlbertC said:
They've been over-expanding at a rapid and reckless pace. The mochi donut concept works for cutesy food festivals and pop ups. But the general public will get tired of them quickly and the novelty will wear off, just like with past food fads in the city like Uncle Tetsu cheesecakes, iHalo Krunch ice cream, etc. Especially at the price of what they're selling them at. Signing a lease at Yorkdale may be a death knell for the franchise.
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With that in mind, the chain's owners saw their pitch on Dragon's Den air this week.

They came in with a valuation of 14 million across 13 locations (11 full cafes and 2 kiosks).

Two Dragon's invested, negotiating the valuation down to 12M.

The Pitch: https://www.cbc.ca/dragonsden/pitches/marry-me-mochi

Visit Marry Me Mochi | Mochi Donut Locations in Toronto & GTA — Marry Me Mochi

Find Marry Me Mochi locations across Toronto and the GTA for freshly made, premium mochi donuts and specialty drinks. Visit our beautifully designed stores and kiosks at top malls, including Yorkdale, STC (Scarborough Town Centre), Square One - The Food District, Vaughan Mills, Kensington Market, Du
www.marrymemochi.ca www.marrymemochi.ca

Their growth does not appear to be slowing any. New Locations coming in the GTA at Sherway, Fairview, and Bayview Village.

Also, they're going into Vancouver including Pacific Mall.
 
Northern Light said:
Their growth does not appear to be slowing any. New Locations coming in the GTA at Sherway, Fairview, and Bayview Village.

Also, they're going into Vancouver including Pacific Mall.
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Just like Uncle Tetsu.

They started at Bay and Dundas and moved into malls as well as Union Station.

Now they are just meh.

I have to agree with @AlbertC in that this is a passing fad. Mochi donuts are that thing influencers peddle on social media to hype it up but they are actually overpriced garbage. Sweet Jesus ice cream is another example of this.
 
Richard White said:
Just like Uncle Tetsu.

They started at Bay and Dundas and moved into malls as well as Union Station.

Now they are just meh.

I have to agree with @AlbertC in that this is a passing fad. Mochi donuts are that thing influencers peddle on social media to hype it up but they are actually overpriced garbage. Sweet Jesus ice cream is another example of this.
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And Torontonians mindlessly lap up this crap.
 
Towered said:
And Torontonians mindlessly lap up this crap.
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Yep.

My personal opinion is that influencers are paid to shill products. They don't care if the makeup they are pitching makes you look like a birthday clown.. they just have to make you think it looks good on you.
 
Richard White said:
Just like Uncle Tetsu.

They started at Bay and Dundas and moved into malls as well as Union Station.

Now they are just meh.

I have to agree with @AlbertC in that this is a passing fad. Mochi donuts are that thing influencers peddle on social media to hype it up but they are actually overpriced garbage. Sweet Jesus ice cream is another example of this.
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I never saw the appeal of Uncle Tetsu; their cheesecake is not to my taste. But ageed, some people like the latest fad
 
Healthy Planet coming to Yonge & Eglinton at 2529 Yonge St (old SportChek).
 
Richard White said:
Ikea STC is closing.

https://www.ikea.com/ca/en/newsroom...scarborough-town-centre-location-pubb0dd3920/

That leaves two very big holes in the mall where HBC and Sears used to be. It also opens up options.
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DSCToronto said:
www.thestar.com

Ikea closing its small format store at Scarborough Town Centre shopping mall

Ikea has announced it will close its small format store at the Scarborough Town Centre shopping mall in Toronto sometime early next year
www.thestar.com www.thestar.com
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Can't say I'm entirely surprised. If you're going to drive to STC for IKEA you might as well just drive a little further down the 401 to the full-size store at Leslie. The downtown small-format IKEA works because it is in a walkable area and serves people who live downtown and may not have a car.
 
TossYourJacket said:
Can't say I'm entirely surprised. If you're going to drive to STC for IKEA you might as well just drive a little further down the 401 to the full-size store at Leslie. The downtown small-format IKEA works because it is in a walkable area and serves people who live downtown and may not have a car.
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That's exactly what my folks thought.

They went to get a shelving unit from IKEA in STC a few months ago but were told it was not sold in that store, they could go pick it up at the North York store if they had an urgent need for it. Eventually, they settled on having it delivered to the store which itself was a bit of a s***show.

If I want something of any substance from IKEA, it did not make sense to go to the STC store.
 
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