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The Beach(es)

hawc said:
"The Beach Village" Really?!?! That's the worst. That's awful. Can't believe they called it that. Actually I can. Gross.

It will always be The Beach to me.
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I get it! It unites the "Beaches" people and "The Beach" people in opposition to this ridiculous name change.

Mission accomplished.
 
ShonTron said:
I get it! It unites the "Beaches" people and "The Beach" people in opposition to this ridiculous name change.

Mission accomplished.
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Not sure I see the big deal.

This is the Queen Street East businesses here ... I don't recall ever calling them the Beach or the Beaches .... I just call it Queen Street East in the Beach. The neighbourhood name doesn't change ... this is just part of the neighbourhood.

Though I don't think it will catch on ...
 
GKW said:
small clip on City News tonight about the skyrocketing rents and closing stores in the Beach
http://www.citynews.ca/2014/03/31/beach-businesses-face-challenging-times/
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What a fluff piece. 90% of it is, "We're closing" with no explanation why. Then in the last 10% there's some mention about city property taxes forcing landlords to raise rent and that's why the closing. Maybe? But no explanation why the decrease in foot traffic. Is that there real reason for the closing? And if that's it, then why is foot traffic decreasing. I feel like I could have shot this report on my iPhone. Talk to two business owner and one random guy on the street. Weak.
 
Common its city news ...

But I'm sure there are folks who live in the area from on this forum, maybe they can comment !
 
Well I hope La Carnita makes a go of it. If Works didn't it doesn't look good though. That south stretch has been bad forever. Nothing lasts there. The condos coming in will hopefully help matters. Better retail and more people.
Southcore said:
Given the current retail climate it's almost impossible for the swimwear store to compete, regardless if they are here or when the move to London, On.

On the bright side, the area will soon be getting the second outpost of La Carnita (to be located beside Hogtown Smoke):

http://www.torontolife.com/daily-dish/restaurants-dish/2014/03/25/la-carnita-new-location-the-beach/
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Which part of Queen are they referring too ... I find the part will all the newish condos (i.e. west of woodbine or so) have always struggled to attract retail since they've been built, but the more established lowrise section to the east always seems to do ok / well.
 
The swimsuit shop was in the condo zone but a lot of stores have been closing in the older area to the east. Queen East is now littered with empty storefronts and is ripe for the thing the residents hate the most: condo development. Taxes and rents are a big part of the story but demographics are also a factor. The population is white and greying and cheap. For all the talk about the Beach being 'like a village', there's very little community engagement or improvement compared to other neighbourhoods in the city. There are some nice things but the area is generally dull and living far below its potential.
 
blahblahblah said:
Well I hope La Carnita makes a go of it. If Works didn't it doesn't look good though. That south stretch has been bad forever. Nothing lasts there. The condos coming in will hopefully help matters. Better retail and more people.
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La Carnita is an extremely popular restaurant though, The Works is a run of the mill burger chain. I see this as becoming a big hit the way Playa Cabana did when they opened a second outpost in The Junction (another area not know for amazing retail).
 
flonicky said:
The swimsuit shop was in the condo zone but a lot of stores have been closing in the older area to the east. Queen East is now littered with empty storefronts and is ripe for the thing the residents hate the most: condo development. Taxes and rents are a big part of the story but demographics are also a factor. The population is white and greying and cheap. For all the talk about the Beach being 'like a village', there's very little community engagement or improvement compared to other neighbourhoods in the city. There are some nice things but the area is generally dull and living far below its potential.
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This kind of sums it up for me. The area is very pretty, the access to the lake superb, the cottage feel of the place wonderful - but culturally that strip of Queen East has long felt curiously homogenous and vanilla-bland. I think it's what the residents have long preferred but it's not my cup of tea. I rarely go along the strip itself but in the more temperate months I'm happy to bike along the bay and get into people-watching. But the shops, bars and restos on the strip? No thanks, there's nothing there for me.
 
hmm, I know a couple folks who live in the area and they have very differing views from the above ...

I'm curious, what is the area missing ? Do you mean it has a very commerical feel compared to say Queen East (lesilvile) or Queen West ... or what ? I'm very curious.
 
The area is missing energy and a 'feeling of moving forward'. It's stale. While other strips have improved and changed, Queen East has just been coasting and getting scruffy around the edges. It's not a bad place, it's just that you would expect it to be better considering the residents' ample resources and the setting. If you look up the demographic trends of the area on the city's website, seniors are area's the largest growing group (the working aged demographic is pretty much stalled) so the greying population would explain some of it.

And it's not all self-inflicted. A considerable amount of anger about the Tuggs. Inc. deal probably came from a general sense of more inertia being imposed on the area. And that restaurant disaster at Woodbine Beach confirmed those feelings.

However, the area has many, many fine nail salons.
 
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