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DSC said:
Though I do not drive much, I think that sooner or later 'they' will realise that drivers (or their cars) will need to buy gas for a good while longer and there is STILL a need for gas stations. The stations at Front & Sherbourne and Church & Dundas are already definitely going (or at least there are applications on both site)
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When I saw the Wellesley and Jarvis gas station had been demolished I was pleased, as it doesn’t suit the Keg Mansion nearby. So, I was disappointed to see it rebuilt.
 
DSC said:
Though I do not drive much, I think that sooner or later 'they' will realise that drivers (or their cars) will need to buy gas for a good while longer and there is STILL a need for gas stations. The stations at Front & Sherbourne and Church & Dundas are already definitely going (or at least there are applications on both site)
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I think they will be with us a long time, but scaled down and rearranged. I recall when I was in South America about 15 years ago they had some gas stations like we do in Canada, primarily in wealthy suburban locations, but in the middle of the city they were reduced to long, narrow stands, sometimes placed right in the median the road. They would still have the large sign advertising the price, but then would have only a narrow lane to pull out of traffic at which point a worker would take your payment, pump the gas, and then tell you they were done and to drive on. The whole process was made as quick and efficient as possible. If you were properly prepared the gas would be flowing into your car only 10 to 20 seconds after you merged into the gas station lane. The only change needed to make it work here I suspect is the logistics of the storage tanks. Obviously they would have to be much smaller and would need to be refilled far more frequently. Either way, we don't have to have gas stations that occupy 5,000 square feet of ground level space. You could even offer snacks or refreshments to drivers while their cars are filling up to bump up the margins with people like at a baseball game walking up and down the aisle. "$40 of regular plus a pack of players light, a red bull and a bag of dorritos," all done in under one minute.

Edit: Here's an example from Brazil, right on Copacabana beach no less!

1611509599022.png
 
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Jonny5 said:
I think they will be with us a long time, but scaled down and rearranged. I recall when I was in South America about 15 years ago they had some gas stations like we do in Canada, primarily in wealthy suburban locations, but in the middle of the city they were reduced to long, narrow stands, sometimes placed right in the median the road. They would still have the large sign advertising the price, but then would have only a narrow lane to pull out of traffic at which point a worker would take your payment, pump the gas, and then tell you they were done and to drive on. The whole process was made as quick and efficient as possible. If you were properly prepared the gas would be flowing into your car only 10 to 20 seconds after you merged into the gas station lane. The only change needed to make it work here I suspect is the logistics of the storage tanks. Obviously they would have to be much smaller and would need to be refilled far more frequently. Either way, we don't have to have gas stations that occupy 5,000 square feet of ground level space. You could even offer snacks or refreshments to drivers while their cars are filling up to bump up the margins with people like at a baseball game walking up and down the aisle. "$40 of regular plus a pack of players light and a red bull."
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We actually used to have this kind of arrangement here and I have seen it in Europe a few years ago.

gas1.jpg
 
Jonny5 said:
You could even offer snacks or refreshments to drivers while their cars are filling up to bump up the margins with people like at a baseball game walking up and down the aisle.
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I haven’t been inside a gas station kiosk in years. If I wanted coffee or lottery tickets I’ll go elsewhere. And if anyone walks up to me whilst I‘m filling up my car I assume they’re either a thief/scammer or a beggar, triggering my fight or flight instincts, rather than a snacks/refreshment peddler. Over two decades of living in downtown east has left me rather jaded.
 
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Oh, that Esso. Where else am I going to go at 3am when my friend who lives in Spruce Court decides she needs to walk her dog at that very damn time?

Met some interesting characters there at those times.

That place is quite the uh.....interesting sort of community centre "non-stop" as they say in Europe.

Probably for the best.
 
DSC said:
We actually used to have this kind of arrangement here and I have seen it in Europe a few years ago.

View attachment 295864
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The mini pumps of Rome! I was wondering if we'd ever see that here.

In Rome, they have a pair of pumps and a small booth with attendant and cash. Takes up minimal space (minus the tanks underground).
 
When I lived in Fredericton I relied on rural, one or two pump stations to fuel up my motorcycle. I remember once riding into a tiny station just south of CFB Gagetown, filling up, and out of the woods comes a pair of LAVs to fuel up.
 
The Tim Hortons at Parliament and Winchester (in the old Winchester Hotel building) has closed. That's surprising! Rumour has it a McDonald's is taking its place.

Also, the new building at Parliament and Amelia with retail space along the street and apartments above seems to be almost done. It actually looks really great!
 
TwoDogs_39 said:
The Tim Hortons at Parliament and Winchester (in the old Winchester Hotel building) has closed. That's surprising! Rumour has it a McDonald's is taking its place.
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Oh, please not a McDs, BK or A&W. I fear that CT commercial rents are becoming so high that only large foreign fast food chains (and pot shops playing their short term hustle) can afford them. That said, I’d welcome the return of Starbucks.

The pot shop hustle? Very few of the pot shops we see everywhere are going to survive long, but it's not about growing a viable business with the revenue to pay the rent long term. It's about those who've obtained a AGCO-issued Retail Operator Licence (to sell pot) putting up their best face in order to attract investors or ideally a buyer of their business (the ROL is not transferrable, but it's owned by the business, not a person). So you put up enough money to rent the store for a max 24-month lease and make it looks nice and professional, and hope to god that you can hustle your ROL onto someone else before you run out of rent money and have to close down.

Look how many former, now closed pot shops there are in Toronto, they're everywhere. And it makes sense, since the future of pot is not bricks and mortar retail, no more than it is for books or cheese. It's home delivery that's the future - and who has the exclusive rights to that trade? Yep, the Province, https://ocs.ca/ and once that gets up to speed, these retail pot shops are DOA.

If I was a commercial real estate owner in Cabbagetown there's no way I would rent to a pot shop, or if I did it would be high rate, short term, for the above reasons.

As for the Winchester location, my vote is a Starbucks or an independent cafe. Maybe split the property into two units?
 
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AlbertC said:
Qi Sushi at Gerrard East & Sackville has closed after over 10 years at this location:

streeter.ca

Cabbagetown sushi eatery closing on Gerrard - Streeter

Qi Sushi at 358 Gerrard St. E., east of Parliament Street, announced online it is permanently closing after this holiday weekend.
streeter.ca streeter.ca
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Shame. The family and I often bought from them. I will say that my last takeout from them in April included a poor attempt at beef teriyaki that was stone cold and consisted of mostly fatty gristle.
 
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