I recall prior to NoFrills, there as a KnobHillFarms and ConsumerDistributing in this plaza; prior to that Food City and Towers and a Kodak Fotomat booth in the parking lot. This plaza went downhill once GerrardSquare opened nearby,... hard to believe GerrardSquare could be an upgrade to anything but it's an indoor mall!
You're recollection is essentially correct.
I was in that Consumers and that Towers as a kid.
But one correction; the Consumers and the Towers co-existed with Gerrard Square.
The mall did not materially effect the plaza, at least, not its simple existence.
What did affect things was that Towers was purchased by Zellers.
And, that Horizon department stores, (a brief discount banner from Eaton's, with a Gerrard Square location), folded.
That 1-2 punch saw Towers become Zellers, and then Zellers de-camp to the Gerrard Square space formerly occupied by Horizon.
Around the same time, Consumers went bankrupt.
Nixing that plaza's 2 star performers.
The big space then sat vacant for a time; before Knob Hill stepped in.
It did bring back some crowds to the plaza, but it was already a bit past its best at that point.
When Knob Hill vacated, there was a gap before No Frills appeared, again tanking traffic levels.
LBL did put some money in, refreshing lighting doing some exterior work..........but certainly didn't invest in comprehensive renewal.
It should be said, during much of this time Gerrard Square didn't do that well.
The Sears store performed poorly.
Zellers closed (Walmart later took that space)
The food court was 1/2 empty.
The once nice'ish Miracle Food Mart became a more mediocre Food Basics.
The mall is once again doing ok.
But be sure, redevelopment is in the offing.
