[Northern Light]

This is going to be controversial but here is my 2 cents:

I don't know about controversial; but I would certainly differ in my take, as I did above, in saying that I think your take is just a bit extreme.

Yonge's soul has been eviscerated. That sleazy seedy feel was the soul of Yonge. It's a feeling that gives the closest feel to a rowdy seedy New York/San Francisco/Chicago/LA feel.

You might be talking about Hell's Kitchen in New York City which was once a den of open drug dealing, porn cinemas, peep shows and all sorts of other similar stuff..........

Last I checked, you can now find a Disney store.

Welcome to Hell's Kitchen:

Talking to friends who hail from London and other parts of Europe, Toronto is just very uptight and prude.

In some respects this is true, but much less so than it once was.........

Remember that in the time being lamented here, Sunday shopping was illegal; so was pot, so was gay marriage, and a whole host of other things.

Toronto was one of the first major cities in the world to have legal gay marriage and the same can be said for legal access to pot.

Video arcades everywhere have fallen by the wayside with online gaming; strip clubs and porn shops have largely been replaced by internet porn, but also by sexting, by a more permissive culture around sex, by a legal nude beach and women being able to be topless in public in Toronto as well.

That said, there are still 2 strip clubs on Yonge downtown if that's your thing...........

I don't think 'prudish' is the really the right word for Toronto anymore, which is in fact a social leader in liberalization in many respects; I think it might be fair to say Toronto tends to favour 'order' and has a bit more of a reserved sensibility than some places. Though that's all relative.

The second problem is cost of living is so expensive that it's eating up majority of income. People are not going to go out to bars, restaurants or spend if they can barely pay their rent and other cost of living. This stretch of Yonge St. also is home to a high percentage of students who are most likely living on very low income, spending majority of the time studying and quite possibly decamping from the city once they attain their education.

That is certainly true in some measure. No question the real estate market is pinching on some people's entertainment budgets.

***

A final thought though..............

Go have a look at the Yonge of the 1940s in old photos.............It looks nothing like the Yonge of the 1970s/80s.

There were more cinemas, it was generally more upmarket (not necessarily fancy, but not sleazy), when College Park was still Eaton's, and there was a second Eaton's on Queen (pre-Eaton Centre) it was a very different place.

Many surely would have lamented the loss of Yonge's soul when the Eaton Centre arrived and Eaton's College closed and porn cinemas and video arcades suddenly flourished.

Just a reminder, all areas evolve over time.

Yorkville was hippy central before it was the Mink Mile.

 

[CanadianNational]

I'm getting old. Spent a lot of time Yonge back in the 80's and 90's but it certainly has changed and for me for the worse. Record stores (gone online), book stores (gone online), independent electronic stores (killed by Best Buy and online), video arcades (online), anything to do with sex (online) and so forth. It was sleazy which for me was the charm considering where I grew up (Willowdale). It was much more vibrant back in the day. The new condos may bring more people living in the area but they are also bringing the same chains you can find anywhere. And since I don't care much for Bubble Tea I'm not really sure why I would go there. Certainly not like in the day. But then I could be the stereotypical old guy talking about how everything was better in the old days.

I totally agree with you. Yonge Street's variegated charms were much more home-grown and irregular way-back-when. I dislike the amount of shadowing on the street and the corporatization of many of its outlets. But yeah, I feel like an old fogey for complaining about the street now - I mean, a lot of what I complain about now sounds like what my parents complained about. "It's crowded and impersonal! SO expensive! All those people living on top of one another! Too dangerous!", etc. (laughs)
Everybody has a favourite Toronto, the impression of which seems to be formed when people are in their 'teens through their thirties. If I was young now, I'm sure I would find it deeply, wonderfully exciting in a whole different way. Some things have been lost, true, but a lot of it has just migrated to different neighbourhoods, even as Yonge Street's energy has increased.
I'm really looking forward to the planned Yonge Street reno, which should really improve the streetscape, loosen that increasingly 'hemned in' feeling, and smooth out the sidewalk traffic.

Anyway, sorry - don't want to get this thread too far off track.

 

[Towered]

I'm getting old. Spent a lot of time Yonge back in the 80's and 90's but it certainly has changed and for me for the worse. Record stores (gone online), book stores (gone online), independent electronic stores (killed by Best Buy and online), video arcades (online), anything to do with sex (online) and so forth. It was sleazy which for me was the charm considering where I grew up (Willowdale). It was much more vibrant back in the day. The new condos may bring more people living in the area but they are also bringing the same chains you can find anywhere. And since I don't care much for Bubble Tea I'm not really sure why I would go there. Certainly not like in the day. But then I could be the stereotypical old guy talking about how everything was better in the old days.

Thanks for summarizing exactly why I think Yonge is at its worst today - I was too lazy to clarify my position

 

[yrt+viva=1system]

5.4.2023

 

[Albion_Sky]

Not sure if this was already known but following up from the discussion a couple of pages back it looks like Me Va Me is opening up in one of the units facing Alexander Street. I walk past semi-regularly but never noticed this sign before.

 

[FiveSigma]

Not sure if this was already known but following up from the discussion a couple of pages back it looks like Me Va Me is opening up in one of the units facing Alexander Street. I walk past semi-regularly but never noticed this sign before.

That's a great addition to the neighborhood.

Their kebab plates and shawarma are absolutely delightful and the current nearest location is all the way on Queen West.

I'm excited about this one.

 

[Red Mars]

May 23, 2023

 

[rdaner]

Retail is finally coming in. FiveSigma pointed out the restaurant on Alexander in May. Hopefully they have a patio! Photos taken 1 July.

 

[AlvinofDiaspar]

It's an INS, so exciting! Guess it is better than an empty storefront...

AoD

 

[Rascacielo]

Hmm, are those pictures with INS 'coming soon' taken on the day they were posted? I swear it was already open when I passed by yesterday.

 

[zang]

Hmm, are those pictures with INS 'coming soon' taken on the day they were posted? I swear it was already open when I passed by yesterday.

Not yet; taken literally 3 minutes ago;

 

[yrt+viva=1system]

8.4.2023

 

[stjames2queenwest]

Retailers cannot afford to have brick and mortar stores these days, especially not on streets like Yonge.

 

[EBT]

There is an INS store opening in the vacant space in the condo across from Maple Leaf Gardens - less than a five-minute walk away from this location! I have never heard of INS before and now they are seemingly popping up like mushrooms everywhere! No complaints from me, however. Competition in the food space is good and its better than another bank!

 

[zang]

There is an INS store opening in the vacant space in the condo across from Maple Leaf Gardens - less than a five-minute walk away from this location! I have never heard of INS before and now they are seemingly popping up like mushrooms everywhere! No complaints from me, however. Competition in the food space is good and its better than another bank!

I don’t know that I’d call much of what’s edible at an INS “food”. In my opinion they’re just generic franchise convenience stores. There’s very little that sets them apart from any other, and there’ve been many in the PATH and the financial core for years.

The three biggest (and most recognizable) players in the convenience market in Canada are Couch-Tard (Circle K), 7-Eleven and On the Run. The first two franchisers have higher initial investment requirements than INS and the latter is tied exclusively to gas stations.

So their new ubiquity is probably down to why there was two Subways on every corner about a 15 years ago; they’re the cheapest to get a foot in the door with. Ultimately, that tends to oversaturate a market and diminish quality/reputation. That doesn’t bode well for any INS expansion plans, and I think they need to do a lot of work to break away from their generic-ness.