Downtown Grocery Stores
 

The term "Food Desert" seems pretty common nowadays and often applies to our downtowns. How well served in your city or town's downtown area? What's the history? Is your central area mostly served by chain grocery stores, small independents, farmer's markets or Shoppers Drug Mart?

Why are grocery stores so common in suburban areas yet so hard to find downtown where most residents don't own a car? Ottawa is a decent case study. The suburban community of Orleans, with a population of 100,000, has about 10 full service grocery stores. That's not counting the two Farm Boys (full service minus toiletries and cleaning products) or the half dozen Shoppers. In the Central Area (bounded by the Ottawa River, Rideau River and Trillium Line), half the size of Orleans with the same population, we have about 5 much smaller full service grocery stores, two Farm Boys (one of which is tiny) and about a half dozen full service Shoppers.

L'Île de Hull, with about 10,000 residents on 3 square kilometers, and 30,000 office workers, has been a food desert for 20 years. Efforts have been made to attract a grocery store over the last 10 years with no luck so far. The Giant Tigre closed recently. One developer is just now close to a deal with a grocer for a new tower, though we've heard this before.

The Central Area is served by small independent grocery stores, often selling specialty items, but no toiletries, which can be found in fairly common pharmacies. Old Ottawa East has a 0 waste grocery store called Nu, but it's quite small. The ByWard Market has a good selection of fresh fruits and veggies and at least one butcher.

Note: Ottawa's central area has improved significantly over the last 10 years, with the two Farm Boys (Centretown and Rideau), a Whole Foods (Glebe) and at least 3 Shoppers (two Centretown and one on Rideau) built in that time frame. One full service grocery store on Rideau was demolished for redevelopment, but should reopen in the podium of the new towers. One, possibly two grocery stores, are planned in the Escarpment District, a long standing food desert.

Some like to characterize downtown Winnipeg as a food desert because there is no big name chain supermarket located squarely in the area, but it is generally not that hard to get by as there is one smaller but still full-service independent supermarket, a Giant Tiger with a good selection of basics, and a couple of ethnic grocers. There are also some chain supermarkets located just outside of downtown but still within reach for people in certain downtown neighbourhoods (Osborne Village Safeway, St. Boniface No Frills, West End Freshco and Food Fare, etc.).

Of course, online grocery shopping is becoming a game changer for many downtown residents.

Toronto has done well in this regard in recent years.

It too use to be thin pickings for full-service grocery.

Its still a bit thin if you're in the financial district.

Though you now have a Pusateri's (high end) (currently closed due to Covid); a small McEwan, also in the luxury space.

But very nearby you have a Coppas, a Longos, a Sobeys, 3 Metros on the downtown fringe, and 1 City Market (mini-Loblaws) and 1 flagship one (Maple Leaf Gardens); Also 1 Farm Boy just opened this week, and another is en route) just beyond that fringe of downtown, there are several more

There's also maybe 4 more supermarkets going in near downtown over the next 3 or so years.

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Hamilton has one full-service supermarket right in the heart of downtown. A mini-chain named Nations.

The not yet a real downtown of Mississauga has a Whole Foods.

It’s alright here. There are a few downtown markets with limited selection. But St. John’s is a linear city so while the core is large enough lengthwise, it’s really only ever a few blocks deep. Just walk uphill and within 10-15 minutes you’ll be in “streetcar” areas with all the big grocery chains. Dominion, Sobey’s, and Coleman’s all have huge stores closer to downtown than the distance to walk the length of downtown.

I live in Rabbittown, just outside the core. There’s a giant Sobey’s kitty corner to my street, and a medium-sized Coleman’s a couple blocks away. If you’re downtown, a huge Dominion in the former Memorial Stadium is 5 minutes away.

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(To give you a sense of urbanity, Coleman’s and Belbin’s are both exactly where the rowhouses end travelling away from downtown in their respective directions. Beyond them there are pockets of rowhousing but mostly post-WWI SFD/duplexes/etc.)

Caine’s and Belbin’s are both ancient institutions here. Caine’s is great for traditional Newfoundland cuisine, Belbin’s is great for British imports and pre-made meals from the most popular downtown restaurants.

In the High Park area, I've got two No Frills, a Freshco & Loblaws, Sweet Potato & Organic Garage for organic/health food within 1km walk and a Rabba within 200 metres. There's plenty of green grocers nearby. I mostly shop at No Frills and Sweet Potato, and Rabba for basics.

In Waterloo, Valumart, Walmart, Sobeys, Central Fresh Market and Bulk Barn are within 1km walk and Vincenzos is just around the corner. I prefer Sobeys, CFM and Vincenzos although Valumart has all the PC stuff I like. Shoppers Drug Mart is handy too.

Downtown Hamilton has the farmer's market, Giant Tiger (gross), Denninger's, Nations and many small green grocers of various ethnicities.

As for why grocery stores prefer the suburbs? I imagine it's about volume: car owners spend more money. In KW I see this play out: Valumart in "downtown" Uptown Waterloo is surrounded by parking but compared to the true suburbs with giant parking lots it's very quiet.

You forgot Loblaws on Rideau and Hartman's IGA at Bank and Somerset. I would say that both are "full size" grocery stores.

In Regina, we only have a small Shoppers grocery in our downtown mall. That's literally it in downtown proper.

In the immediate surroundings, we have a Safeway about 300 metres from the edge of downtown. A couple small ethnic stores in the same range.

Where is the new Farm Boy? Urban format (how big)? Ottawa loves its Farm Boys!

They converted a Sobeys Urban Fresh, in College Park (so College/Bay)

Its pretty small, but they packed a fair bit in.

Downtown Kitchener is not quite a food desert, and it does have the weekly farmers market, but it badly needs a proper supermarket. There is hope that the massive boom in new apartment construction could mean enough support for a supermarket in future, although there's nothing definite yet.

Downtown Castlegar has an independent grocery store called Kootenay Market.

There is also a full-size Loblaws on Isabella St. right next to the Queensway so on the border between downtown/Centretown and the Glebe.

Though due to the Queensway (to its north) that acts as a barrier, it's more useful and "local" to areas to the south like the Glebe than those to the north which is actually the heart of the city's core.

In the five full service grocery stores within the Central Area, I counted Whole Foods, Metro and Loblwas on Isabella in the Glebe, Hartman's (now Massine's) in Centretown and Loblaws on Rideau. I don't consider Farm Boy full service because they don't carry cleaning products, toiletries or soft drinks.

We have SaveOn on the west edge of Downtown and United Foods (Chinese grocer) on the eastern edge. A Loblaws City Market is being constructed in ICE District (2021 opening).

We have a year-round Sat/Sun indoors farmer's market on 97st, along with a seasonal outdoor market on 104st.

With Shoppers now being a pseudo-grocery for some and with two of those, we have options.

I don't think it's downtowns that are the issue. What I find particularly annoying is how often grocery stores will cluster. For example, two in the same plaza. And then often, a whole high rise/mid rise cluster without a grocer nearby.

there were a lot of grocery options in downtown Montreal when I last lived there. Plaza Alexis Nihon had an IGA. Ste. Catherines Ouest had a Provigo (plus a bunch of smaller markets). Place Desjardins had an IGA. There were Metro and Provigo grocery stores on Parc Avenue. And there were countless smaller (ethnic) food markets, plus market collections like Atwater Market. At one point the Faubourg Ste. Catherine had grocers, fish mongers, bakeries, butchers, etc., but eventually all they offered was cockroaches.

Is there a grocery store in the old port area now? I used to live down there and hated the cold walk to the IGA through Old Mtl/Chinatown.

We have a Sobeys on the west end of downtown Moncton, and a Superstore on the east end. In the central area on St George, we have a popular funky independent grocery store called Dolma Foods, as well as the usual assortment of grocery sections in pharmacies and a number of corner convenience stores, as well as a downtown fish market.

I was looking forward to that Farm Boy as it's right below my office tower. But uhhh, looks like I won't be back there any time soon...