Canadian Retail Thread - Page 323

casper · #**6441** Posted **Apr 2, 2022, 5:21 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Airboy

Indigo Book stores are booting Starbucks and adding Calgary based Good Earth Cafes.

https://goodearthcoffeehouse.com/

As for the debate on Coras. I prefer it over Dennys. Prices have gone up slightly but its still a decent amount of food for the price. And my wife likes it so that is more important.

However there are some decent little dinners we do go to if we can. In Edmonton Hathaway's Dinner is our go to place.

And stopped in at a New KFC last night, ( I needed some comfort fatty food.) The new design is quite nice, Wood grained tiles but brick and Barn wood wall coverings. Definitely not the average KFC. Only been to Popeyes twice and found it OK.

Given the choice I would usually go for Whitespot. Their chorizo and goat cheese omelet was fantastic. However with COVID they switched to that terrible all day menu with so few choices. I do hope we get back to it and omelets made with goat cheese.

Blitz · #**6442** Posted **Apr 2, 2022, 9:22 PM**

The KFCs have been slowly disappearing around here but that market share has been grabbed by Popeye's. A Chick-Fil-A recently opened in Windsor and I can see why people love it. It has a simple menu but it's really good and even though it's fast food the in-person restaurant atmosphere is much better than KFC or Popeye's.

MolsonExport · #**6443** Posted **Apr 2, 2022, 9:34 PM**

whatever happened to Furry Canuck?
or Rusty Van Whatever?

Wigs · #**6444** Posted **Apr 2, 2022, 10:23 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by MolsonExport

whatever happened to Furry Canuck?
or Rusty Van Whatever?

He's been MIA for quite a while.

I believe he's still teaching at U of C though.

Loco101 · #**6445** Posted **Apr 3, 2022, 3:59 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by casper

Given the choice I would usually go for Whitespot. Their chorizo and goat cheese omelet was fantastic. However with COVID they switched to that terrible all day menu with so few choices. I do hope we get back to it and omelets made with goat cheese.

That's my favourite chain restaurant when in BC. I love their West Coast salmon burger. I actually tried it for the first time on the ferry to Nanaimo as they serve many of the restaurant's dishes onboard. White Spot is also pretty decent for breakfast.

Loco101 · #**6446** Posted **Apr 3, 2022, 4:25 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Acajack

At least in Quebec, there are now way better options than Cora for that stuff.

Allô Mon Coco for example blows them out of the water IMO.

https://allomoncoco.com/fr/videos/

I've been to both chains and love them both. I really like the way they do the fruit in many dishes at Cora. But I'd say that Allô Mon Coco is better for their breakfast dishes overall and have fancier choices. I also prefer the interior of their restaurants over Cora.

I was really happy when Allô Mon Coco opened a few years ago in Rouyn-Noranda. I hope to be there sometime soon. In Timmins, we don't have any fancy breakfast places. The fanciest you can get here is Mikes which is okay and is a Quebec chain.

Acajack · #**6447** Posted **Apr 3, 2022, 12:18 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by Loco101

I've been to both chains and love them both. I really like the way they do the fruit in many dishes at Cora. But I'd say that Allô Mon Coco is better for their breakfast dishes overall and have fancier choices. I also prefer the interior of their restaurants over Cora.

I was really happy when Allô Mon Coco opened a few years ago in Rouyn-Noranda. I hope to be there sometime soon. In Timmins, we don't have any fancy breakfast places. The fanciest you can get here is Mikes which is okay and is a Quebec chain.

Along these same lines, I noticed recently that there is a place called La Belle Province in the east end Ottawa suburb of Orleans. I did a double take as the Montreal-area chain doesn't even have a location in Gatineau, but looking more closely it doesn't appear to be part of the chain. The logo and visual identity are a bit different.

https://www.google.com/maps/uv?pb=!1...GAQpx96BAhhEAg

J.OT13 · #**6448** Posted **Apr 3, 2022, 1:06 PM**

Ottawa's newest Canadian Tire, u/c at Carlingwood Mall, replacing Sears which had been there since the mall's opening in 1955.

20220401_115256 by harley613, on Flickr

WhipperSnapper · #**6449** Posted **Apr 4, 2022, 1:09 AM**

That doesn't look like a Canadian Tire (not saying it isn't)

megadude · #**6450** Posted **Apr 4, 2022, 1:36 AM**

Looks more like a SAIL Outdoors store. I like it.

https://www.yelp.ca/biz/sail-brossard

I'm used to this. Nice and sharp looking.

https://corp.canadiantire.ca/English...s/default.aspx

Did not know they also look like this one in Edmonton.

https://betakit.com/canadian-tire-op...car-simulator/

Glad they don't look like this anymore.
[IMG]

[/IMG]

This one at Eaton Centre was always interesting. First time I'd seen an escalator just for carts, which went to the basement level. Funny that a Ryerson facility is on top. A school on top of retail is usually for a career college.

https://www.thestar.com/opinion/cont...otherwise.html

Have always liked their HQ. Ain't the prettiest building, but it stands out from boring office buildings.

https://corp.canadiantire.ca/English...e/default.aspx

And always liked this throwback gas station swoosh roof design at the location across from Clarkson GO Station in Mississauga.

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life...rticle5087214/

le calmar · #**6451** Posted **Apr 4, 2022, 2:02 AM**

The Canadian Tire the one above will replace is just 5 min away from the new location and it has an escalator just for carts too. It has a strange layout.

This Canadian Tire in Shawville is the oldest and smallest I’ve ever seen.

JonHiseler · #**6452** Posted **Apr 4, 2022, 2:25 AM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by le calmar

The Canadian Tire the one above will replace is just 5 min away from the new location and it has an escalator just for carts too. It has a strange layout.

This Canadian Tire in Shawville is the oldest and smallest I’ve ever seen.

Tiny like the one in Nipigon, which is the smallest one in the country.

https://www.google.com/maps/@49.0155...7i13312!8i6656

Loco101 · #**6453** Posted **Apr 4, 2022, 2:30 AM**

There are still some tiny ones in Northern Ontario. The one in Nipigon even advertises itself as the smallest in Canada.

Downtown Wawa:

https://goo.gl/maps/RQaQ7Sp6WVn88z437

Nipigon:

https://goo.gl/maps/HmCvWZTGGzfxJATm6

le calmar · #**6454** Posted **Apr 4, 2022, 12:22 PM**

That one in Wawa is not only small, but it is also urban. Reminds me of the old Giant Tigers. Sadly, the big chains tend to just close those down once they’ve reached their expiration date. I’ve yet to see one of those old urban legacy locations that has been renovated. It’s more simple to shut it down and move to a new shiny box outside town. And I’m not even sure they would bother opening a new location in places like Wawa and Shawville.

casper · #**6455** Posted **Apr 4, 2022, 12:36 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by le calmar

That one in Wawa is not only small, but it is also urban. Reminds me of the old Giant Tigers. Sadly, the big chains tend to just close those down once they’ve reached their expiration date. I’ve yet to see one of those old urban legacy locations that has been renovated. It’s more simple to shut it down and move to a new shiny box outside town. And I’m not even sure they would bother opening a new location in places like Wawa and Shawville.

Canadian Tire tends to be franchise stores. So there is likely some negotation between the franchise owner and corporate. Giant Tigers are also franchise stores.

thewave46 · #**6456** Posted **Apr 4, 2022, 12:37 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by le calmar

That one in Wawa is not only small, but it is also urban. Reminds me of the old Giant Tigers. Sadly, the big chains tend to just close those down once they’ve reached their expiration date. I’ve yet to see one of those old urban legacy locations that has been renovated. It’s more simple to shut it down and move to a new shiny box outside town. And I’m not even sure they would bother opening a new location in places like Wawa and Shawville.

It amuses me to think of anything in Wawa as urban, but yes, you're right.

It's more akin to a Home Hardware than Canadian Tire. Given Wawa's precipitous decline, the future is basically one of milking the last of the value from the location. Ironically, the Home Hardware - usually located in the heart of these little towns - is on the fringes of the town.

MolsonExport · #**6457** Posted **Apr 4, 2022, 12:49 PM**

I remember Harls once saying how much he loved the CT logo (jk)

WhipperSnapper · #**6458** Posted **Apr 4, 2022, 1:15 PM**

Canadian Flag at the top is super hot

megadude · #**6459** Posted **Apr 4, 2022, 3:07 PM**

Yeah, it's a kind of sad when one of those places closes down and then residents in the area will have a hard time to get some items they need, like immediately today. Something we take for granted. You hope something can fill the void for some items.

Those tiny hardware stores you see in Manhattan in shows or movies I've only experienced once. When I visited my cousin on the Upper West Side and stayed for 12 days. She was next door to one of those shops and I got a key cut. Was narrow, a little dark and a little grungy. Not a pleasant shopping experience, but it had many of the essentials. Those small CTs look a lot more inviting.

I have to admit, I like stepping foot in any modern CT or HD. 99.99% of the stuff I don't need but it all looks so cool and is presented well. I could easily browse around aimlessly for 15 minutes. A place like HH or Rona will keep you focused because they are smaller and to the point.

WhipperSnapper · #**6460** Posted **Apr 4, 2022, 3:21 PM**

There's fewer and fewer of those hardware stores in the older parts of Toronto too. Owners are dying off with no one to takeover. I'm not huge on squeezing through a hardware hoard. On the plus side, the owners are very knowledgeable; they have parts for everything unlike chain stores which only sell popular items; they seem to know where everything is in their mess.

Amazon now carries parts for just about anything.