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| Then and now: Maple Leaf Gardens |
PopGoesTheNews.com As it puts the finishing touches on a new supermarket at Maple Leaf Gardens, Loblaws is entering the increasingly competitive grocery scene in one of downtown Toronto's most densely-populated neighborhoods.
The highly-anticipated 70,000-square-foot store — described by the company as "Food's Greatest Stage" — opens Wednesday morning with the promise of free gift cards for the first 250 customers who pass through its doors at the corner of Carlton and Church St.
Located on the ground floor of the iconic Art Deco structure, the new Loblaws features a fresh food hall (including omelettes made with five free-run egg whites), an eat-in sushi bar, Tea Emporium (with 100 flavors of loose-leaf tea), a Patisserie (with handcrafted chocolate, Bruce County Fudge and fresh baked goods), a full Ace Bakery, a pharmacy with an in-store dietitian, and an 18-foot wall of cheeses (including a 100-pound wheel of Stilton — one of only 100 in the world — and the rare artisanal Louis d'Or from Quebec). The company's clothing brand, Joe Fresh, has a shop on the second level, where the LCBO is also opening. Customers get an hour of free parking underground and the store is equipped with free Wi-Fi.
The supermarket is only 300 metres east of the corner of Yonge and College St, which until recently was only serviced by a cramped Metro on the basement level of College Park (formerly the first Eaton's store) and a grocery aisle at Shoppers Drug Mart — both open 24 hours a day. (Loblaws will be open 7am to 11pm daily.)
Last month, a bright new Sobeys Urban Fresh opened on the ground floor of 777 Bay Street — the office/retail complex adjacent to College Park. And next month, the former Tridel sales centre (and one-time Pizza Hut restaurant) on the northeast corner of Yonge and Carlton St. becomes a Bulk Barn. The store promises more than 4,000 products including candies, spices, baking ingredients and grains.
In addition to serving the thousands of people who live in the neighborhood's numerous apartment buildings, the grocery chains are targeting condo dwellers. New buildings include the 30-storey Lumiere condo at 770 Bay St and the 45- and 37-storey towers of the Murano at Bay and Grenville St. They join an area already dotted with condos like the 43-storey Met at 21 Carlton St. and 33-storey Encore at 25 Carlton St, the Residences of College Park at 761-763 Bay St (51- and 45-storey towers), the 17-storey Royalton at 801 Bay St, 18-storey Ellington at 7 Carlton St, the Conservatory Tower at 736 Bay St and the three-tower Liberties condos at Bay and Gerrard St.
Moving into the neighborhood is the 48-storey Burano at 832 Bay St, and Canada's tallest residential tower — the 75-storey Aura — just south of College Park. The latter features a shopping mall anchored by the city's first Bed Bath & Beyond as well as Alice Fazooli's and Canyon Creek restaurants and a food court. A block north of College Park, construction is set to begin next year on the 52-storey Karma condo tower on Grenville St. A developer has also proposed twin 58-storey condo towers on Yonge St between Alexander and Maitland.
The new Loblaws has size on its side as well as a lot of history. Built in 1931, Maple Leaf Gardens was vacated in 1999 when the Toronto Maple Leafs moved to the Air Canada Centre. During its 68-year life as a hockey shrine, MLG was home to a number of Stanley Cup victories and to the first ever NHL All-Star Game. The arena hosted the one-and-only season of the Toronto Huskies basketball team in 1946-47 and 16 home games for the NBA's now-defunct Buffalo Braves from 1971 to 1975. The Toronto Raptors played six games at MLG in the late '90s.
Maple Leaf Gardens was also a popular concert venue, hosting the likes of Sting, Neil Diamond, Bob Dylan, Rush and Bruce Springsteen. The Beatles performed three concerts at MLG from 1964 to 1966 and Elvis Presley played a rare Canadian date there in 1957. Some of MLG's musical moments were immortalized on film: The Who Rocks America was shot there in 1982 and Duran Duran filmed the video for their hit "The Reflex" at the Gardens in 1984.
After MLG was shuttered, Loblaw and Home Depot both flirted with the idea of taking over the iconic building but balked at the projected costs. The arena was periodically rented out for special events and for film productions (Robin Williams' 2002 dud Death to Smoochy, the 2005 Russell Crowe boxing drama Cinderella Man and the 2006 Tim Allen flop Zoom) and for TV shows (Flashpoint's season two finale and the first season of Battle of the Blades). In 2009, Loblaw (which paid $12 million for MLG in 2004) struck a deal with Ryerson University to share the space. An athletic centre, including gyms and a 2,600-seat hockey arena, will open on the upper levels of the building next year.
Last summer, Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment went to court seeking to prevent Ryerson from using the Maple Leaf Gardens name or using its new arena for events that compete with the Air Canada Centre. Ryerson says the athletic centre will have a title sponsor by the time it opens.
A retro-inspired marquee outside the building shows both "Ryerson University" and "Maple Leaf Gardens" (and Loblaws is promoting its new store as "Loblaws at Maple Leaf Gardens").
Loblaws operates other grocery stores within walking distance of its new Maple Leaf Gardens supermarket, including No Frills on Sherbourne and on Parliament and the Bloor Street Market inside the Manulife Centre. The area also has several Rabba stores (on Wellesley St E, Wellesley St W, Charles St E and Isabella St), a Sobeys Express on Yonge at Breadalbane as well as a Food Basics (owned by Metro) on Wellesley St E and a Metro on Gould St.
But the stores with the most to fear from the new Loblaws are the independents retailers north of Maple Leaf Gardens like Super Freshmart, Pusateri Fruit Market and About Cheese — all on Church St. "To say we're scared of Loblaws opening is an understatement," Pusateri owner Tony Cerminara is quoted as saying in the Nov. 17 issue of Xtra!
