[Saint John] Retail Thread

[DyAm00394]

Originally Posted by bridgeoftea

Sounds like the old Naan Your Business is going to be a Domino's on the north end.

Was already mentioned on this thread back in January.

[DyAm00394]

Clément is now open at McAllister Place in the old Toys R Us space.

https://clement.ca/en



(Photo is from the mall's Facebook page).

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

I heard something about Popeye’s closing down… any truth to that?

[sailor734]

I don’t know anything specific but it wouldn’t surprise me. I think QSR numbers are a bit of a pendulum that can swing quickly from “not enough “ to “too many” Combine that with the affordability issues many are facing and I expect a lot of people are cutting back.
On a similar vein I wonder how the new McDonalds in Millidgeville is doing? The drive through never seems to be lined up and there always looks like a good number of empty parking spaces when I go by.

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

I’d hope it’s just a change in ownership, as it’s a solid enough brand and product to survive in the competitive SJ fast food market. I feel like the location is a bit out of the way, but the quality of the food is quite good compared to Mary Browns and other chicken places, except Mary Brown’s on Mondays.

Of all the fast food chicken sandwiches in town, I’d say Popeyes has the best sandwich, but Mary Brown’s has the best deal (on Mondays only).

I’d say both Mary Browns are in better locations, closer to large retail nodes. Though, Popeye’s is in a pretty decent location for people commuting in and out of the city from KV, so I’m surprised if it’s actually having trouble staying in business. I think a change in ownership is more likely than Saint John’s Popeye’s closing down… at least I hope.

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

I still think the SJ market is in desperate need of a Dunkin Donuts. I think they’d absolutely crush it with a central location Uptown, or even on the lower West Side. I think the Saint John region as a whole could easily support 3 or 4 Dunkins… as just like Timmies, Dunkins also has a lot of low cost menu items, and appeal as a third place.

If Tim Hortons continues to operate in New England, I see no reason why Dunkin Donuts couldn’t work in the Maritimes.

[DyAm00394]

New chatter over on Retail Talk & Share NB Facebook group. Apparently, the land next to Princess Auto at East Point Shopping Centre is being prepared for something going there. A source said they heard a drive-thru establishment is going there. Wonder what it will be?

[sailor734]

Drove past the former location of Tops today. Window signs saying “Coming soon….The Chicken Station Fried Chicken”. mildly disappointing

[bingun]

Originally Posted by EnvisionSaintJohn

I heard something about Popeye’s closing down… any truth to that?

It was widely popular when it first showed up, but when I drive past now, it is rarely busy. I don't think they are getting the traffic they hoped for. That being said, it would be a big hit to shut it down so soon; it wouldn't have been cheap to build that unit from scratch.

I've only had it three times, and one of them was really bad. I think the oil was off or something because I couldn't finish it. The latest time, though, was fine, and they had some promotions so that it wasn't outrageously expensive.

Originally Posted by sailor734

I don’t know anything specific but it wouldn’t surprise me. I think QSR numbers are a bit of a pendulum that can swing quickly from “not enough “ to “too many” Combine that with the affordability issues many are facing and I expect a lot of people are cutting back.
On a similar vein I wonder how the new McDonalds in Millidgeville is doing? The drive through never seems to be lined up and there always looks like a good number of empty parking spaces when I go by.

The new McDonald's will do fine; they do a lot of research before they set up new locations like that. It is not going to be as busy as East, but they will get plenty of traffic from folks in Millidgeville and the hospital.

[RaginRonic]

Originally Posted by bingun

It was widely popular when it first showed up, but when I drive past now, it is rarely busy. I don't think they are getting the traffic they hoped for. That being said, it would be a big hit to shut it down so soon; it wouldn't have been cheap to build that unit from scratch.

I've only had it three times, and one of them was really bad. I think the oil was off or something because I couldn't finish it. The latest time, though, was fine, and they had some promotions so that it wasn't outrageously expensive.



The new McDonald's will do fine; they do a lot of research before they set up new locations like that. It is not going to be as busy as East, but they will get plenty of traffic from folks in Millidgeville and the hospital.

That Millidgeville McDonald's is really there to help alleviate pressure on the Main St. location (which will turn 40 years of age on Wednesday, November 4 of this year).

[bingun]

So, did nothing come of the two new units that were built alongside RBC at East Point?

It seems kind of surprising that they would go ahead without a tenant for either. I did a quick search online to see if it's publicly listed for lease, but I couldn't find anything.

[DyAm00394]

Originally Posted by bingun

So, did nothing come of the two new units that were built alongside RBC at East Point?

It seems kind of surprising that they would go ahead without a tenant for either. I did a quick search online to see if it's publicly listed for lease, but I couldn't find anything.

Last I heard a while ago was that both units are available for lease according to the construction workers working on the project. I actually think it makes sense to build them to fill the gap between RBC and PetSmart, would be odd to have a big empty gap in between. Plus them being built now means the units will already be ready to fit up when tenants come along.

[DyAm00394]

Reposting from the "Big 3 NB Malls" thread:

Originally Posted by DyAm00394

Beauty 21 Brow Studio is coming soon to McAllister Place and Regent Mall. Job listings are now advertised the malls' websites. Currently Beauty 21 Brow Studio has only have 4 locations, (3 in Ontario, 1 in Saskatoon). https://mybeauty21.ca/

[DyAm00394]

Sharing this news from the big NB malls thread:

Miniso is coming to McAllister Place!!!

Building permit was registered to the City of Saint John permit database back on April 7th. “Tenant Fit Up for Miniso”.

https://miniso-ca.com/

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Good to see Miniso is coming, it’s quite an enjoyable store with all kinds of random stuff alongside everyday essentials. It feels very Japanese, and in China they even used to brand the stores as Miniso Japan, but I think now it’s just called Miniso. Miniso and Uniqlo are pretty much the mainstays of malls in China (both big and small) and now that we’re finally getting a Miniso, I think we may finally get Uniqlo too… at least eventually!





I think a one two punch of Miniso and Uniqlo could be the anchor tenants needed to bring people back to Brunswick Square from all over the region. Even though McAllister place would be the safer bet for Uniqlo, Brunswick Square could actually have a higher pay off, and tap into the seasonal cruise ship market.

Both Saint John and Halifax could be interesting opportunities for Uniqlo and Miniso to expand their distribution and warehousing side of things given our large sea ports. Halifax might be the more logical place for Uniqlo to open their first retail store, but Port Saint John could be the better option for warehousing and distribution, since we’re significantly closer to the much bigger markets in Central Canada and the US Northeast.


I still don’t get why there’s not a single Uniqlo store open across the Maritimes, and feel like by now there should have been multiple Uniqlos in Halifax, and at least one in each of the other maritime CMAs. It’s not a huge store, and we have all kinds of malls and retail nodes across the region with more than enough available space.

What could malls in Saint John offer Uniqlo to make it worth their while to open up a store in one of our malls?

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

• Video Link

I’ve heard they plan to expand with hundreds of stores across Canada, so surely the Maritimes, the region of Canada most similar to New England (The most Dunkin’ Donuts obsessed part of the US) will see many stores pop up.


Hopefully we see a few open here in Saint John. Would love to see a Dunkin’s on the West Side.

[sailor734]

I wonder if we'll have Canada specific branding or will the cups say "America runs on Dunkins" Given the state of relations between the two countries it seems an odd time to make this decision.

[EnvisionSaintJohn]

Originally Posted by sailor734

I wonder if we'll have Canada specific branding or will the cups say "America runs on Dunkins" Given the state of relations between the two countries it seems an odd time to make this decision.

You barely even see Dunkin’ Donuts west of the Mississippi, but in New England, Dunkin’s is arguably an even more important part of the cultural fabric than Tim Hortons is part of the Canadian cultural fabric, especially in more recent years, as so many Canadians have stopped going to Tim Hortons so frequently… or have even stopped going there altogether.

Maybe, just maybe we will see a major tail wagging the dog response by Dunkin’s corporate, and they’ll put:

North America Runs on Dunkin’

on their cups across both the Canadian and US markets (and Mexico too if they’re next for DD).

A message of conciliation and cooperation, not one of doubling down on the economic—nationalistic spat that’s been going on between our two countries, could go a lot further than the token maple leafs American fast food chains have been incorporating into their branding and packaging in the Canadian market for decades.

I guess Halifax has already been tapped as the first market for Dunkin’s to expand in Atlantic Canada, but I really think Saint John’s economic and cultural leaders should be trying to get the first store here in the first city! Halifax might be a lot bigger than Saint John now, but I still feel like Saint John feels way more like a mini Boston than Halifax does… and Boston is the epicenter of Dunkin’ Donuts! New Brunswick is already sitting on top of New England, Dunkin Donut’s Kingdom.

[icetea93]

Originally Posted by EnvisionSaintJohn

Good to see Miniso is coming, it’s quite an enjoyable store with all kinds of random stuff alongside everyday essentials. It feels very Japanese, and in China they even used to brand the stores as Miniso Japan, but I think now it’s just called Miniso. Miniso and Uniqlo are pretty much the mainstays of malls in China (both big and small) and now that we’re finally getting a Miniso, I think we may finally get Uniqlo too… at least eventually!





I think a one two punch of Miniso and Uniqlo could be the anchor tenants needed to bring people back to Brunswick Square from all over the region. Even though McAllister place would be the safer bet for Uniqlo, Brunswick Square could actually have a higher pay off, and tap into the seasonal cruise ship market.

Both Saint John and Halifax could be interesting opportunities for Uniqlo and Miniso to expand their distribution and warehousing side of things given our large sea ports. Halifax might be the more logical place for Uniqlo to open their first retail store, but Port Saint John could be the better option for warehousing and distribution, since we’re significantly closer to the much bigger markets in Central Canada and the US Northeast.


I still don’t get why there’s not a single Uniqlo store open across the Maritimes, and feel like by now there should have been multiple Uniqlos in Halifax, and at least one in each of the other maritime CMAs. It’s not a huge store, and we have all kinds of malls and retail nodes across the region with more than enough available space.

What could malls in Saint John offer Uniqlo to make it worth their while to open up a store in one of our malls?

I think UNIQLO is absent in Halifax so far because Halifax shopping centre is 99% full and does not have a 15,000-20,000 square foot space available. They prefer to open first in the dominant mall in the region. I think this may change soon, as there as some spaces being rearranged in HSC near Gap, but Gap would need to close first. It’s the one quiet corner of the mall so I think Gaps closure is an inevitability

[RR Drummer]

Originally Posted by EnvisionSaintJohn

• Video Link

I’ve heard they plan to expand with hundreds of stores across Canada, so surely the Maritimes, the region of Canada most similar to New England (The most Dunkin’ Donuts obsessed part of the US) will see many stores pop up.


Hopefully we see a few open here in Saint John. Would love to see a Dunkin’s on the West Side.

Love me some Dunkin' I'm not a hot beverage person but thoroughly enjoy their cold coffee drinks and their donuts are fantastic, among other food offerings. Anytime I am South of the border I run on Dunkin'. I for one cannot wait for one, two or more in Saint John.