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Friday, 10 December 2010

Transformations: Zellers Downtown

The Bay Downtown
It's been a busy couple of weeks for me so I haven't had the chance to visit the new downtown Zellers until today. It was unveiled December 3rd, 2010.

It took a while to get myself oriented. The store and the grocery department are now blended together. That and the lower roof made it feel more like a small Marks and Spencers than a suburban discount department store.

It has a nice look and feel. It gets the job done.

As someone who has lived and worked downtown for 20 year or so I have always bemaoned the need for a good general retailer. Some retailers left, department stores scaled back and 'hit and miss' selection bargain shops grew in number it made everyday retail shopping a pain.

At many points if you had to buy a hammer, a box of Sunlight brand detergent and a bag of kitty litter you were simply better off leaving the downtown because you were never sure that you'd be able to find all three.

To those not living downtown, perhaps a Zellers and a revamped grocery store may not seem like a big deal but if you live in or around downtown you know how great it is to have it here

Circa March - July 2010:

The Bay Downtown
The Bay Downtown
The Bay Downtown

Circa December 2010:

The Bay Downtown
The Bay Downtown
The Bay Downtown
The Bay Downtown
And for those wondering about signage, it's coming. They had a variance application before the city to add signs and flags but it turns out that they fit within the guidelines so the permits were granted without the need for a variance.

2 comments:

Scott MacNeil said...

Good post - my favorite line "if you had to buy a hammer, a box of Sunlight brand detergent and a bag of kitty litter" too funny! Makes one wonder if you may have been trying to pound the living shit out of a stain your cat may have left on the carpet cause his kitty litter was full?

One Man Committee said...

Good stuff! I haven't been inside to see the finished product (I was last there about a couple weeks ago) but a lot of my colleagues have been talking about how much they like having another place to pick things up at lunch or after work. The presentation is very nice and that counts for something too.

I would have appreciated this when I was living downtown, especially when I was a student relying on public transportation without the option of hopping in a car and driving to pick up whatever I needed.