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Will new Loblaws on College kill Kensington Market?


February 21, 2013

By Robyn Urback

Read More: http://www.blogto.com/city/2013/02/will_new_loblaws_on_college_kill_kensington_market/


If a viral video can win you a one-on-one with Galen Weston, perhaps a series of protests can convince him to abandon plans to open a store by Kensington Market? Anyone? No? OK.

A group of concerned Kensington Market advocates however, is a little more optimistic. "We've gone against big corporations before," says Venetia Butler, chair of the Kensington Market Action Committee. "And we've successfully demonstrated our ability to make change." That group is hoping to change plans for a new 20,000 square foot Loblaws that is slated to open on the second floor of a new condo at College and Spadina. The worry among the anti-Loblaws crowd is that the new grocery store will drain business from the smaller independent food shops already operating in Kensington Market.

"We're not against all types of retail there," Venetia says of the condo development. "We're just saying that it's entirely impractical to put a big grocery store chain there when the area is underserviced in other ways. We'd be delighted to have a liquor store; a Staples would be fantastic." The group already held a protest in Kensington Market this past weekend to voice its displeasure with the plans, and is planning to go against Councillor Adam Vaughan to seek to halt the Loblaws arrival.

.....




20130221-loblaws-protest.jpg
 
Tourists and visitors to downtown go to Kensington Market for it's uniqueness, so it doesn't just serve the local residents. And outsiders won't be going there to go to places like Loblaws.
 
Couldn't agree more with the above.

Really?

How does Venetia define underserviced? and who exactly is underserviced? Frankly, if anything, Loblaws has demonstrated to be the most sensitive of major retailers in terms of design and compatibility. The grocery store will serve the neighbourhood, not just Kensington Market, and the Market will persist and continue to evolve over time.
 
The recent rat infestations found in a few shops in Kensington Market will probably kill the area long before Loblaws will.
 
If they were planning to build it right on Augusta my answer would be absolutely no. But having Loblaws on College won't affect the attractiveness of the market at all. Build it.
 
I believe that there would be less outrage if Loblaws were to build a T&T Supermarket near Kensington Market or Chinatown, as long as it is not along Augusta.
 
biggest rat I seen is sitting on the left side of city hall.....when I was in my teens I use to work at Knob Hill farms and you should seen the size of those rats there when the store was closed and we had to restock...
 
I'm curious, which condo is this? I'm guessing it's going to have several hundred units (the norm seems to be around 300-500) which means more potential business for the merchants in Kensington. Also, 20k sf isn't exactly a neighbourhood killer. Methinks the protestors in this case doth protest too much.
 
“We support our neighbours”: Shoppers and business owners talk about Kensington Market’s new Loblaws

See link.

Last week, Kensington Market’s long-awaited Loblaws opened on the second floor of a 15-storey condo tower at College Street and Augusta Avenue, the former site of a Zen Buddhist temple. At 20,000 square feet, the “Independent City Market” (so called because it’s owned by a franchisee) is much smaller than other Loblaws locations, but that hasn’t stopped the community from getting riled up. Neighbourhood activists have long predicted that a supermarket would drive Kensington’s small grocers out of business, ending its century-long run as an eclectic, immigrant district. We spoke with business owners and Loblaws shoppers about what’s next for the area.
Click to expand...
 
It's interesting that the responses from customers are unanimously positive and most don't think that the introduction of Loblaws will affect the smaller shops within the actual market much at all, meanwhile the actual retailers are a little less certain and acknowledge that it will definitely have some sort of impact on their businesses.
 
I thought this was the interesting tidbit for UT'ers

Martin Zimmerman
59, owner of Zimmerman’s Fairland

“My dilemma is that I had a car accident four years ago, which renders me unable to be in the store as much physically. My business has gone down dramatically since. So, Loblaws won’t make any difference to my already declining clientele. However, the meat and cheese department at the new Loblaws is big, so it will definitely affect Sanagan’s Meat Locker and Global Cheese in Kensington. I think Loblaws will run out of business when my family decides to put something major at College and Spadina, where I’ve owned seven buildings for the past 18 years. That’s 240 square feet of frontage—more than twice the amount that Loblaws on College currently has.
 
I met a friend at his place on Major Street last weekend. After I left his place I was going to take the streetcar and GO back into Hamilton, and being incredibly hungry, walked into the Loblaws to pick up a quick snack. It wasn't until I had my bags and left the Loblaws door that I realized that there were dozens of food options only a block or two away in Kensington Market.

I think it was the close location and brand familiarity that made me not even consider the other options nearby. If my experience is indicative of others in the area, Kensington could be in trouble.
 
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