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This is intriguing! Let's hope the basement gets taken over too. I bet that deadzone has been way worse of a deadzone over the past year.
Do we know of any retail that has been scouting for downtown locations?
Hoping for some form of entertainment, like Dave & Busters. Or a downtown Ikea lol.

Those units are commercial condos, are they not? I don't know what could be done with that.
 
Those units are commercial condos, are they not? I don't know what could be done with that.

You are correct.

I'm sure most/all owners down there would gladly take a buy-out.

I don't believe they sold all the units either, certainly the level of vacancy suggests otherwise.
 
I don’t think I’d want a downtown IKEA there - it is already a notoriously bad place for bike lane blockages.
I would LOVE an IKEA at Yonge & Gerrard provided it had room for their restaurant and provided they are still CHEAP ! The IKEA on Leslie is too far for me to go for a cheap breakfast but this would be within walking distance. Last time I had breakfast at IKEA on Leslie it was just $1 ! I wonder how much it cost now? I also liked the famous Swedish Meatballs served with Lingonberry sauce and the many other cafeteria options.

It will be interesting to see what business occupies this space. Sounds like it has already been leased out. Hope to god it is not another bank or drugstore. I wouldn't mind if Whole Foods went in there but how likely is that? I used to love on Saturdays tasting all the free samples at Whole Foods in Yorkville, especially the Cheese. As for fast foods I wouldn't mind seeing a Burger King here or Arby's! I don't know why Arby's abandoned the Toronto market but I would love to see them come back. From their TV commercials their new sandwich options look awesome!

For those of you reading this what would you like to see go into that location?
 
I would LOVE an IKEA at Yonge & Gerrard provided it had room for their restaurant and provided they are still CHEAP ! The IKEA on Leslie is too far for me to go for a cheap breakfast but this would be within walking distance. Last time I had breakfast at IKEA on Leslie it was just $1 ! I wonder how much it cost now? I also liked the famous Swedish Meatballs served with Lingonberry sauce and the many other cafeteria options.

It will be interesting to see what business occupies this space. Sounds like it has already been leased out. Hope to god it is not another bank or drugstore. I wouldn't mind if Whole Foods went in there but how likely is that? I used to love on Saturdays tasting all the free samples at Whole Foods in Yorkville, especially the Cheese. As for fast foods I wouldn't mind seeing a Burger King here or Arby's! I don't know why Arby's abandoned the Toronto market but I would love to see them come back. From their TV commercials their new sandwich options look awesome!

For those of you reading this what would you like to see go into that location?

Ikea haven't had $1 breakfast (even pre-pandemic) for awhile.

AoD
 
IKEA is a destination store. If they had any plans for a downtown location they would have built one years ago, and not during a pandemic.
 
From Le Sélect's FB page:

"Au revoir. But not goodbye.

Chers amis, dear friends,

We miss you.

We miss the smell of cassoulet and crusty baguettes in a dining room full of people making friends, making deals, making memories.

At first, we thought we'd open again soon. We used the down time to build a new pergola and lay a new floor. But we were facing challenges before Covid. On all sides of us, major construction projects rose like soufflés, testing our sang-froid. We'd beaten a crippling property tax bill, but the provincial bureaucrats at MPAC were tying on the gloves for another round.

In short: Le Sélect had been through an earthquake and a tornado, and then Godzilla stomped down Wellington Street. Such was Covid-19.

As the bills piled up and the centimes started to run short, we asked ourselves: are we ready to enlist for another fight from the trenches? Perhaps it was time to make a deal.

Enter Allied Properties. Allied is a company with a vision we admire. They build pedestrian-friendly neighbourhoods. They believe in preserving heritage buildings, making beautiful designs by leading architects, and meeting Platinum LEED standards to leave the smallest footprint. They are exactly the people we want to do business with.

And so, for the first time, Le Sélect is in new hands. We don't know yet what will happen in the sunny future after Covid. It may be the Le Sélect that you remember. It may change a little or a lot. But we think our legacy is in good hands.

Thank you to all of you who came through our doors to share memories, moments, and café-au-lait, for the chats, the cheers, the tears, and the triumphs. You're why we made Le Sélect.

Pour toujours,

Frédéric, Jean-Jacques, Vicki, Monika, and the whole team
Le Sélect Bistro, 1977-2021"
 
From Le Sélect's FB page:

"Au revoir. But not goodbye.

Chers amis, dear friends,

We miss you.

We miss the smell of cassoulet and crusty baguettes in a dining room full of people making friends, making deals, making memories.

At first, we thought we'd open again soon. We used the down time to build a new pergola and lay a new floor. But we were facing challenges before Covid. On all sides of us, major construction projects rose like soufflés, testing our sang-froid. We'd beaten a crippling property tax bill, but the provincial bureaucrats at MPAC were tying on the gloves for another round.

In short: Le Sélect had been through an earthquake and a tornado, and then Godzilla stomped down Wellington Street. Such was Covid-19.

As the bills piled up and the centimes started to run short, we asked ourselves: are we ready to enlist for another fight from the trenches? Perhaps it was time to make a deal.

Enter Allied Properties. Allied is a company with a vision we admire. They build pedestrian-friendly neighbourhoods. They believe in preserving heritage buildings, making beautiful designs by leading architects, and meeting Platinum LEED standards to leave the smallest footprint. They are exactly the people we want to do business with.

And so, for the first time, Le Sélect is in new hands. We don't know yet what will happen in the sunny future after Covid. It may be the Le Sélect that you remember. It may change a little or a lot. But we think our legacy is in good hands.

Thank you to all of you who came through our doors to share memories, moments, and café-au-lait, for the chats, the cheers, the tears, and the triumphs. You're why we made Le Sélect.

Pour toujours,

Frédéric, Jean-Jacques, Vicki, Monika, and the whole team
Le Sélect Bistro, 1977-2021"

Damn, one of the best restaurants in the city. 😟 Dine in restaurants are a thing of the past thanks to Covid. I worked in the industry over a decade. i encourage anyone still working in the hospitality industry, find another career. We will be dealing with Covid for years to come.
 
Ikea haven't had $1 breakfast (even pre-pandemic) for awhile.

AoD
Their breakfasts are now $2.50 and have tomatoes and pancakes added in.

Not everyone who wants an IKEA breakfast wants tomatoes and pancakes. Many are satisfied with only home fries, fluffy scrambled eggs, and sausage, including myself.
 
Their breakfasts are now $2.50 and have tomatoes and pancakes added in.

Not everyone who wants an IKEA breakfast wants tomatoes and pancakes. Many are satisfied with only home fries, fluffy scrambled eggs, and sausage, including myself.
It's probably been over 10 years since I was at IKEA for the $1 breakfast. $2.50 sounds pretty good to me. I'll take the tomatoes and pancakes.
 
I Don't think this was posted earlier but Artisano Bakery and Cafe closed in late November their last location at Islington and Titan rd. It had been there almost 15 years. At one point I think they had six or seven locations stretching from downtown Toronto to Burlington.
 
It's probably been over 10 years since I was at IKEA for the $1 breakfast. $2.50 sounds pretty good to me. I'll take the tomatoes and pancakes.
This is why I want the $1 breakfast back as an option. The $2.50 breakfast with the addition of tomatoes and pancakes can be a premium offering.

This way, if one is willing to spend an extra $1.50 for tomatoes and pancakes, there's that option.
 

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