Nations is wildly expensive, and their meat is questionable. Also, they pass loss onto customers by forcing them to buy 4-5 pre-wrapped veggies vs 1-2 loose items.
I used to stop in every now and then before the Pandemic, but the combination of price increases + huge crowds/lineups has kept me away for years. I’m sure I’m not the only one.

The fact is, you can do all your grocery shopping in the core, albeit at different spots:
Deningers, Nations, T&T on Park, Alamin Butcher Shop on King William, Lighthouse & International Fish Markets on James North, etc.

The Hamilton Farmer’s Market is literally not on option for anyone who has a full time job that isn’t inside Jackson Square.

I think those who ask for more ‘grocers’ Downtown Hamilton really mean they want the Loblaws-style of grocery store we’ve (Gen X, Y, Millennials) grown up on; That being everything all in one spot at reasonable prices and minimal human interaction.
 
DC83 said:
Nations is wildly expensive, and their meat is questionable. Also, they pass loss onto customers by forcing them to buy 4-5 pre-wrapped veggies vs 1-2 loose items.
I used to stop in every now and then before the Pandemic, but the combination of price increases + huge crowds/lineups has kept me away for years. I’m sure I’m not the only one.

The fact is, you can do all your grocery shopping in the core, albeit at different spots:
Deningers, Nations, T&T on Park, Alamin Butcher Shop on King William, Lighthouse & International Fish Markets on James North, etc.

The Hamilton Farmer’s Market is literally not on option for anyone who has a full time job that isn’t inside Jackson Square.

I think those who ask for more ‘grocers’ Downtown Hamilton really mean they want the Loblaws-style of grocery store we’ve (Gen X, Y, Millennials) grown up on; That being everything all in one spot at reasonable prices and minimal human interaction.
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Literally a mini-No Frills downtown would be a blessing, especially if it was somewhat central like in this tower. I just need produce, basic meat, eggs, dairy, and maybe frozen veggies or fruit. That's the majority of our items when we shop.

We usually make the trip to Fortinos, but just shopped at No Frills the other night because I had to make a stop at Rona, and it honestly is great for the basics. Nations packaged produce sucks, and they have far too much variety. I still use it for basic items like sugar, salt and such, but even condiments are in odd tiny expensive sizes, and their fair is inexplicably expensive.
 
DC83 said:
I think those who ask for more ‘grocers’ Downtown Hamilton really mean they want the Loblaws-style of grocery store we’ve (Gen X, Y, Millennials) grown up on; That being everything all in one spot at reasonable prices and minimal human interaction.
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RitsmaCW said:
Literally a mini-No Frills downtown would be a blessing, especially if it was somewhat central like in this tower. I just need produce, basic meat, eggs, dairy, and maybe frozen veggies or fruit. That's the majority of our items when we shop.
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Rightly or wrongly this is exactly what is going to be needed. If the existing grocers serve the existing population, then the incoming demographics of Gen X/millennials need something that is A) tailored to them, and B) built to meet their newfound demand, not just that which already existed.

On a certain level you need basic retail schlock to compliment the more niche and fine-grain retail that comes with a downtown. It’s gotta be universally appealing and meet the needs of any prospective resident- boring as Toronto’s plethora of Shoppers Drug Marts are.

Now, what we DONT want is for downtown to be supplanted into a bastardized Meadowlands of retail selection. It can all coexist, we are simply missing the contemporary piece right now. The alternative is trying to create a fine grain retail mix that can fill that same need, but such retailers, like small-scale grocery stores, are harder to come by. Hence it’s easier to say a new ‘Urban format’ Sobeys would be nice. Let’s keep our eyes on Corktown…
 
As far as I can tell, the only downtown developments with enough retail space for a grocery store you’re asking for is the one behind 100 Main (Landmark Place).

Possibly Corktown Plaza..

Personally, I would love if Effort Trust invested in its downtown commercial properties and renovate Terminal Towers ‘Mall’ back into the two-floor grocery store it used to house (Loblaws).

The City also needs to offload its commercial units at the Hess ‘Mall’ and let a private company renovate and fill those spaces too.
 
Sunnyside said:
Rightly or wrongly this is exactly what is going to be needed. If the existing grocers serve the existing population, then the incoming demographics of Gen X/millennials need something that is A) tailored to them, and B) built to meet their newfound demand, not just that which already existed.

On a certain level you need basic retail schlock to compliment the more niche and fine-grain retail that comes with a downtown. It’s gotta be universally appealing and meet the needs of any prospective resident- boring as Toronto’s plethora of Shoppers Drug Marts are.

Now, what we DONT want is for downtown to be supplanted into a bastardized Meadowlands of retail selection. It can all coexist, we are simply missing the contemporary piece right now. The alternative is trying to create a fine grain retail mix that can fill that same need, but such retailers, like small-scale grocery stores, are harder to come by. Hence it’s easier to say a new ‘Urban format’ Sobeys would be nice. Let’s keep our eyes on Corktown…
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Tbh I wouldn’t mind seeing a Winners/Marshalls open up on the King Street side of this development.

Clothes and homewares all without having to take a bus into/back from the burbs.

Edit: I think a Sporting Life would actually fit in well in this development.
 
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DC83 said:
Tbh I wouldn’t mind seeing a Winners/Marshalls open up on the King Street side of this development.

Clothes and homewares all without having to take a bus into/back from the burbs.
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I'll be the first to shit on mega corporations, chains and big box stores. But that's largely a result of their over abundance. Too much of the same. Downtown has none of the big box stores, and having a smaller sized Winners/Marshalls would be great. I mostly don't want Toronto's over abundance of franchise restaurants that Hamilton has seemingly avoided, but when it comes to housewares, and clothes, leaving downtown is a must, and there are a few people that have a car, or left the city altogether because they didn't see that changing anytime soon. A larger retailer like that would be a godsend along the King frontage.
 
Even just getting a Winners / Homesense in Jackson Square would be great.

The entirety of Hamilton only has 2 Homesenses right now though so I wouldn't get my hopes up too much..

I don't think the retail space here is large enough for a Winners / homesense however. I expect mostly restaurants along King William and perhaps some other kind of smaller retailer along King St.
 
innsertnamehere said:
Even just getting a Winners / Homesense in Jackson Square would be great.

The entirety of Hamilton only has 2 Homesenses right now though so I wouldn't get my hopes up too much..

I don't think the retail space here is large enough for a Winners / homesense however. I expect mostly restaurants along King William and perhaps some other kind of smaller retailer along King St.
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I really wish we had access to the site plan. I can't even find the old one which I'd love to look over, but the plan has changed since then even. I don't believe office space is part of the development anymore while it was before.

Edit: nvm I found (the old one):

I'm not sure if office space is still part of this. I also really hope the interior driving circle was removed. I didn't know that was part of the plan. I also thought the space to the left or right of the garage entrance was additional commercial space. I really don't know why these buildings have two separate lobbies. Perhaps it was because at one time this was going to be owned condos and rentals in the other building, but now that it's all rentals, I wonder if they amalgamated the lobbies and added retail space.

1000000942.png
 
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Those were some very early plans that have changed a lot since. The office space is gone, I'm almost certain of.

It'll still have two lobbies as the drive aisle hasn't been moved off of Hughson, so the lobbies can't be connected.

Not sure on the configuration of the internal drive space within the block. This building has quite a bit of parking in it however, including several levels of commercial parking from my understanding, so I wouldn't be surprised if internal vehicle circulation is still taking up a decent chunk of space.

Looking at those plans, the King St space is about 3,500sf, and unlikely to have changed in size much since then. Winners generally needs at least 3x that area from my understanding, for reference.
 
innsertnamehere said:
Those were some very early plans that have changed a lot since. The office space is gone, I'm almost certain of.

It'll still have two lobbies as the drive aisle hasn't been moved off of Hughson, so the lobbies can't be connected.

Not sure on the configuration of the internal drive space within the block. This building has quite a bit of parking in it however, including several levels of commercial parking from my understanding, so I wouldn't be surprised if internal vehicle circulation is still taking up a decent chunk of space.

Looking at those plans, the King St space is about 3,500sf, and unlikely to have changed in size much since then. Winners generally needs at least 3x that area from my understanding, for reference.
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I believe these plans also showed quite a bit of the parking being above ground, and I don't think it showed any underground, so that will have changed the internal layouts too.
 
Yeah, I’m all for a “mini-No Frills” or something like that right in the heart of downtown. I mean, who wants to trek to the suburbs for basic groceries? It’s great to have options like Deningers and Alamin Butcher Shop, but we need something more comprehensive too.
 
Thanks for the picture! Do those lights on the lower levels signify occupants?
 
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