A Loblaws recently opened on the corner of Carlton & Gerrard St. in Toronto, taking over what was once the Maple Leaf Gardens. Very exciting news since we live two blocks away. I decided to visit once the initial hoopla subsided…wow, absolutely fab!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FAB

* A ton of organic products (i.e. fruit, vegetables, home care, beauty care – all well-labelled)

- Meat: They do have organic or local meat, but read the labels carefully (I couldn’t see an organic meat section)

- Seafood: they offer WiseSource(TM) Salmon – apparently a Loblaws sustainable seafood initiative. I couldn’t tell if other seafood was also sustainable, but the pricing signs clearly indicate if & where the fish is farmed, etc.

* Wide aisles with a great selection of products. Everything is very neatly organized – definitely visually stimulating merchandising!

* Fresh Food Hall (i.e. deli with beautiful cheese & cold cuts, tea emporium, Ace bakery, Gelato and more!) with tons of seating space for you to enjoy the food on-site

- 18 ft tall Wall of Cheese is amazing

- “Artisanal” mushroom section

- Some of the eating tables show old memorabilia from Maple Leaf Gardens. Very cool.

* Partnership with T&T supermarkets has enhanced their Asian food selection, and they have a sushi bar where you can enjoy fresh sushi on-site!

* There is a LCBO and a Joe Fresh in the building – talk about convenience!

* A good number of cashiers…although I’d still prefer to avoid the store when it’s busy

 

RAG

* No self-service checkout

* I will avoid during peak times; can imagine it will get very crowded!

 

With so much ready-to-eat food freshly prepared, there is no need to cook lunch or dinner! Heck, we could go there for breakfast too…

Summary: the new Loblaws makes for a very fun shopping & eating experience. Although I do have a Sobey’s and Metro in the basement of our condo, I will definitely make a point to get to this Loblaw’s, especially for the visual stimulation (and the PC products)!