Toronto Manulife Centre Podium and Streetscape Renewal | 9.75m | 2s | Manulife Real Estate | MdeAS Architects

Northern Light said:
That said, Cineplex must be unhappy, and that might mean pricey rent rebates.........the Varsity had to cancel all weekday matinees due to construction noise.
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Short-term pain, long-term gain in that sense.

Bayer said:
According to a note distributed to residents today, Shoppers Drug Mart will open a store on the concourse level, next to Indigo, in early 2019. Not sure where that will be exactly.
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Rexall must be real happy about that.

AoD
 
Bayer said:
According to a note distributed to residents today, Shoppers Drug Mart will open a store on the concourse level, next to Indigo, in early 2019. Not sure where that will be exactly.
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The Y&B concentration of Shoppers just became reasonable with the move of the Yonge & Church location up to summerhill. Unless the HBC location is moving (unlikely given its proximity to subway traffic and cheaper rents), it seems a silly move. Especially with a newly renovated location opening what? Less than 50 metres away?

But then, Galen Weston jr., has lots of money to spend on things other than fair wages, and there are a limited number of museum wings in this town.
 
Northern Light said:
They are holding on to their anchors, Bloor St. Market, Indigo and Cineplex and obviously adding Eataly.
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I don't think Bloor St. Market is long for this world once Eataly is on the scene. The reno a few years back put a lot more focus on pre-cooked/take home foods; which just happens to be Eataly's specialty. Why would lunchtime/after work foot traffic from Bloor/Yonge bother heading downstairs to the back of the building when they can stay on ground level and get what are apparently quite good eats? When/if McEwans ever opens up, that's even more local competition for BSM, and they'll be left with a handful of faithfuls (myself being one) and the old folks who live in the building.
 
I live in the Manulife and I don't see the Bloor Street Market going anywhere. It's as busy as I've seen it in my seven years living there. And now that school has started you can definitely see the increase in students loading up on No-Name brand items, veggies, cheap pasta, etc. Unless they have more money than I had when I was an undergrad I don't see them going to Eataly every day for $15 takeaway lasagna, etc. And what I'm *hoping* will happen with the old Rexall space is that the LCBO will expand into it. The selection of wine there is "meh" at best...
 
zang said:
I don't think Bloor St. Market is long for this world once Eataly is on the scene. The reno a few years back put a lot more focus on pre-cooked/take home foods; which just happens to be Eataly's specialty. Why would lunchtime/after work foot traffic from Bloor/Yonge bother heading downstairs to the back of the building when they can stay on ground level and get what are apparently quite good eats? When/if McEwans ever opens up, that's even more local competition for BSM, and they'll be left with a handful of faithfuls (myself being one) and the old folks who live in the building.
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The operator of BSM is very influential in Loblaws and very hands on w/the store. I've met her on a few occasions.

Not that I'd be first to know, but in my chats w/her I've seen no indication of their departure, indeed investments in the store were being contemplated.

Note that Shoppers Drug Mart, Eataly and BSM are all part of the Weston empire.

BSM will serve a different niche, from either, delivering more daily goods (Detergent, TP etc) and the full range of PC stuff and what not, I also expect to see more prepared foods (as in take-out meals) , not less.
 
zang said:
I don't think Bloor St. Market is long for this world once Eataly is on the scene. The reno a few years back put a lot more focus on pre-cooked/take home foods; which just happens to be Eataly's specialty. Why would lunchtime/after work foot traffic from Bloor/Yonge bother heading downstairs to the back of the building when they can stay on ground level and get what are apparently quite good eats? When/if McEwans ever opens up, that's even more local competition for BSM, and they'll be left with a handful of faithfuls (myself being one) and the old folks who live in the building.
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Eately doesn't really do prepared, take-home food at all. They have amazing raw products (butcher, fish), in-store restaurants but they barely do take out.
 
pw20 said:
Eately doesn't really do prepared, take-home food at all. They have amazing raw products (butcher, fish), in-store restaurants but they barely do take out.
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That's not true.

From the FAQ from the Eataly NYC downtown site (https://www.eataly.com/us_en/support/faqs/nyc-downtown-faqs/eat-restaurants-counters-and-caffes):

Do you have “take-out” foods?

Yes, we offer an assortment of prepared foods to take away at our counters and caffes, including pastries, panini, roasted meats, focaccia, and a selection of sides. La Gastronomia is our counter that is completely dedicated to freshly-prepared to-go dishes.

Please note that our restaurants do not offer delivery or take-away service.
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Presumably, Toronto's first location will be similar, as all four US locations have similar statements in their FAQs.
 
Northern Light said:
Note that Shoppers Drug Mart, Eataly and BSM are all part of the Weston empire.

BSM will serve a different niche, from either, delivering more daily goods (Detergent, TP etc) and the full range of PC stuff and what not, I also expect to see more prepared foods (as in take-out meals) , not less.
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As far as I know, BSM is an independently owned franchise in a partnership with Loblaws as a one-off "upscale" Valu-Mart. I wouldn't be surprised if Loblaws would intentionally cannibalized one of its franchisers in the name of setting up Canada's first Eataly. With Shoppers it's an attack on two fronts. "Detergent and TP" are better served (and generally cheaper) through Shoppers, and most of them now carry a selection of PC products and fresh and frozen food.

No indication of departure means she's not willing to tell people she's worried or seeing projected failure, and often at-risk businesses throw money at a problem to no avail. Seriously, BSM doesn't have cache in prepared foods, and Eataly is going to draw a lot of attention and mouths away from BSM. Fitting a niche is great if the business is there to support it. I don't think it will be. Not at that size, nor that location.
 
zang said:
That's not true.

From the FAQ from the Eataly NYC downtown site (https://www.eataly.com/us_en/support/faqs/nyc-downtown-faqs/eat-restaurants-counters-and-caffes):



Presumably, Toronto's first location will be similar, as all four US locations have similar statements in their FAQs.
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I live in New York, near their uptown location, and work near their downtown location. The uptown location has almost no prepared foods, beyond a rotisserie chicken section. The downown location has more prepared foods, but from a square footage perspective, almost half (if not more) of their stores are devoted to restaurants. Prepared foods is a tiny part of their overall merchandise. I shop at either location once a week. There is no equivalent to the Whole Foods Hot Bar or any sort of true prepared food counter. It is a grocery store, fine foods (cheeses, cured meats) and a restaurant.
 
The note we received says: "Rexall and Stitch It have both relocated to the Holt Renfrew Centre to make way for construction." It does sound that Manulife either bought out or didn't renew their leases.

The new Rexall seems close to an able-bodied person, but I am sure the sizable number of people with mobility issues living at Manulife will switch to SDM.

As for BSM, they have been around for a long time, and I recall going there many years ago when the population density in the area was much lower. With all the towers that are coming, and it being the closest supermarket to Y&B, I really don't think Eataly is much of a threat. Despite its annoying layout, BSM has an excellent selection.
 
Bayer said:
As for BSM, they have been around for a long time, and I recall going there many years ago when the population density in the area was much lower. With all the towers that are coming, and it being the closest supermarket to Y&B, I really don't think Eataly is much of a threat. Despite its annoying layout, BSM has an excellent selection.
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McEwan, when it’s finally up and running, will then be the closest supermarket. I take McEwan into account when I make my statements, and I think Pusateri’s will suffer, too. McEwan also does a healthy bit of prepared food. I just believe that Eataly will take more of a bite out of BSM.

Don’t get me wrong, I love Bloor Street Market; I just don’t see it being able to weather the storm, when famous names are involved.
 
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