EnviroTO said:
So it's done minus the ceilings, lights, the carriageway, the market area, south central stairway to the lower level, the Bay Teamway, east wing main level, etc... but those are minor touch ups.
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And the restaurant in the Great Hall

These guys just called a press conference to announce the Renovation is finished when it's not. They just did to avoid further embarrassment of the length of time it's taken them to finish.
 
A thorough Front Page story on today's proceedings, their good bits; and their misleading bits.........by @interchange42

urbantoronto.ca

GO Bay Concourse Opens at Union Station | UrbanToronto

The new GO Bay Concourse has opened at Union Station in Toronto, completing the plan to expand GO facilities on the lower levels of the station, and making it faster and more convenient for passengers to use the station. Much is still to come for Canada's busiest transportation hub, however...
urbantoronto.ca urbantoronto.ca

@mburrrrr 's excellent photos play a starring role; with support from a good pic by @Allandale25 as well.
 
Mercenary said:
And the restaurant in the Great Hall

These guys just called a press conference to announce the Renovation is finished when its not. They just did to avoid further embarrassment of the length of time its taken them to finish.
Click to expand...
In fairness, the Great Hall restaurant (will we ever see one?) and the food court and shop area beside the Bay Concourse are the responsibility of the Head Leasee (Osmington) but even allowing for that, the City is FAR from finished with its bit!
 
If they do not reinstall the old McDonalds (had to be the busiest in Toronto surely??) then renovations aren't complete. There's even a nice cut out that hasn't been renovated right beside the moat entrance, almost exactly where it was before. ;)
 
ML555 said:
If they do not reinstall the old McDonalds (had to be the busiest in Toronto surely??) then renovations aren't complete. There's even a nice cut out that hasn't been renovated right beside the moat entrance, almost exactly where it was before. ;)
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Well, McDonalds did go back in of course, and it was doing a rip-roaring business before Covid… but it will be interesting to see what goes into the Bay Street side of the lower level, if there are any food merchants of any kind there, or if all of them will be confined to the western two thirds of the station (plus I suppose the ground floor East Wing).

42
 
(Disclaimer: I had essentially never been to Toronto pre-2015) I read somewhere that there used to be a restaurant around the Great Hall. Is that true, and are there plans for it to return? Was it a Le Train Bleu situation?
The only spot I’d imagine it could be would be the business class lounge…
 
sacred said:
(Disclaimer: I had essentially never been to Toronto pre-2015) I read somewhere that there used to be a restaurant around the Great Hall. Is that true, and are there plans for it to return? Was it a Le Train Bleu situation?
The only spot I’d imagine it could be would be the business class lounge…
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There are plans (maybe not detailed!) for a restaurant on the Front St side of the Great Hall, behind the partitioning that is there now. (There used to be 'ticket wickets' there in the olden days and more recently a few car rental etc companies.)
 
sacred said:
(Disclaimer: I had essentially never been to Toronto pre-2015) I read somewhere that there used to be a restaurant around the Great Hall. Is that true, and are there plans for it to return? Was it a Le Train Bleu situation?
The only spot I’d imagine it could be would be the business class lounge…
Click to expand...

The resto on the main level was where the Panorama Lounge is now.

It was a 'Steak and Burger' when I was a kid....(early 80s); this was a chain owned by the same company as Swiss Chalet and Harveys; not fancy at all. But was sit-down, table-service. But on par w/Swiss in terms of market demo.

I believe it was a tavern before that.
 
interchange42 said:
Well, McDonalds did go back in of course, and it was doing a rip-roaring business before Covid… but it will be interesting to see what goes into the Bay Street side of the lower level, if there are any food merchants of any kind there, or if all of them will be confined to the western two thirds of the station (plus I suppose the ground floor East Wing).

42
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It will be interesting how retail in general fares in there once things open back up. The shopping mall model was tenuous to begin with, minus the fast food joints (McD's, Tims, Starbucks, etc) and newstands/convenience stores. WVRST and Union Chicken were doing well for the "grabbing dinner before taking the train home crowd" and the pre, post game bite crowd. Outside of that though, I always got the feeling that the clothing and other merchandise stores like Peace Collective and the Toronto store were struggling. I wonder, depending on how the post covid world looks if there will be a market for traditional retail inside Union.

Tony said:
I won't consider it done until the piano is in place.
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Or the Cinnamon Roll joint

sacred said:
(Disclaimer: I had essentially never been to Toronto pre-2015) I read somewhere that there used to be a restaurant around the Great Hall. Is that true, and are there plans for it to return? Was it a Le Train Bleu situation?
The only spot I’d imagine it could be would be the business class lounge…
Click to expand...

There was the Harvey's ( that I think someone also mentioned) right beside the check in counters. There was commuters on the arrivals/Subway station level. And I do recall something in the West wing but that may be the panorama lounge.
 
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