Highly entertaining YouTube entry on a young man who has just been released from the dentist and is on his way home. See it at a special page established at our associated blog Trish Stuebing’s Store Diary. (We’re running out of pages here).
Escape with the Birds of England
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•Be reminded of some nice weather by checking the Birds of England pieces at Homefront. Go to Trish Stuebing’s Store Diary here.
Tea Emporium asking about space
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•The Tea Emporium, 1592 South Bayview, has asked merchants on the street to provide information about any locations which may be coming vacant. The firm, which has five locations around Toronto, is looking for a space of about 700 square feet on South Bayview. Their website.
Dollar store talk may be idle chat
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•It’s merely idle talk, but some people on South Bayview are saying a dollar store will take the space now occupied by Shoppers Drug Mart. This story, being told in a couple of locations, is said to trace back to a party who might well know, but then again, could merely be talking. Time will tell if this large and suitable space goes discount.
All hands on deck for Bayview phones
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•Merchants on the east side of South Bayview will know that Bell service has, over the years, been spotty. The servicemen are very nice but the phones frequently failed in the face of the ancient wire system. Now with the planned arrival of Shoppers Drug Mart at their new location its “All Hands on Deck” to shape up the service. Trucks, supervisors in groups up and down the utility holes, up and down ladders and of course in and out of the premises at 1605 Bayview where Shoppers will locate. We’re told the furious work resulted in a punctured water pipe yesterday. Messy but as with most things, it was repaired. Anyway, good luck to our hard working service friends at Bell at upgrading the phones.
We bid farewell to “thrifty store” Zeller’s
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• The Hudson Bay company has provided a nice history of Zeller’s, the store chain which seems destined to disappear from Canadian streets after 80 years of business. Even though there is a plan to keep some Zeller’s stores operating, the writing seems to be on the wall about the end of the chain. Target stores of the U.S. has bought most of the leases and it seems likely the rest will go shortly. In 1931, a Waterloo County boy named Walter P. Zeller (left) bought the 14 Canadian stores of American retailer Schulte-United. And so was Zeller’s born. Zeller called his concept the Store for Thrifty Canadians and even during the depression his plan worked. All during WWII and into the 50s and 60s the Zeller’s concept thrived and Zeller expanded, And Zeller proved to be a good employer with an unknown at the time, a company pension plan and competitive pay..
Target to take 220 Zellers locations
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•It certainly didn’t take long for the news to come out about Target stores grabbing the leased locations of Zellers. The Globe and Mail says today that the U.S. general merchandise giant will take 220 locations accros Canada for some 1.8 billion.
Destined for and deserving of obscurity
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• Okay, here we go again with some stories no doubt destined for — and deserving of — obscurity. How about the president of Toyota Motors, who just amazed reporters at the auto show in Detroit by using two rice balls to promote his cars. One rice ball was sold in a store (bad) the other was lovingly made at home (good). Guess which one was the Toyota rice ball? Then there’s the class action suit launched in Newfoundland by a couple of drivers, both now confined to wheelchairs after their cars collided with moose. You may be sure they think the government is to blame. And with a moose population of 125,000 compared to 480,000 humans, the government should probably tell everyone to slow down. Finally, two gentlemen from University College in London have concluded that Canada should finish last in their little study of freedom of information practices. It was an exclusive field. Just five countries — Australia, Britain, Ireland, New Zealand and Canada. The shame. No word on whether we finished a mere fraction of a point behind the second last (not named by the media). Or whether Canada was so far back that no one could see us. Or if all five were bunched up together. Or, why the world has shrunk to five countries, leaving out places like Brazil, China and Thailand. Just asking.
Leaside hockey fundraiser
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•There will be a fundraiser on Friday, January 28, 2011 for the Leaside Memorial Gardens Arena Expansion. It will take the form of a YUK YUK’s comedy night at the On The Park Event Centre. Tickets $75. Buy them online or mail Charlene Kalia.
1942 aerial photo of Thorncliffe Racetrack
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•An interesting local website called Rudy.ca shows some unusual pictures including an aerial photo taken in 1942 of Thorncliffe Racetrack
Wild Wing vs Wild Wings
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•It had to happen . The Canadian chicken wing saloon chain (Wild Wing) is threatening to sue the American chicken wing saloon chain (Buffalo Wild Wings) for “infringing its intellectual property rights.” Wild Wing (that’s the Canadian one) opened a restaurant on South Bayview last year. It’s located in the former Country Donut (and home to various other restaurants) building at Bayview and Millwood. Read more. Or not.
First day for new TD branch
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•The new TD Canada Trust at Laird and Vanderhoof is doing its first day of business today. The remarkable structure, built in 1951, stood vacant for 18 years before TD and others took an interest in it. It’s first occupant was the Pease Foundry Company, which manufactured plumbing and heating equipment there. As industrial conditions changed, it went into a sad period of decline sitting vacant for 18 years. That’s the condition in which most residents under 30 remember it. The building is said to be in the Art Modern style and is associated with the work of Toronto architect Earle Morgan. Morgan was also associated with the design of the O’Keefe Centre.