Sobeys at Cityplace and the need for grocery stores

So, we get LOTS of traffic to this blog for people searching for, say "Sobeys at Bremner" or "Sobeys at Fort York" or "Sobeys at Spadina". In fact, we're seriously thinking of dedicating a week or series of posts just on Sobeys since you're all so interested.

We walked by the construction site last week and it looks like it'll really take up to the June 19th completion date we saw on a building permit a few months back.

Here's a shot of the front area we took.



But in all seriousness, we think it's just another sign that we really need more grocery stores in this area. For Cityplace alone, they're only really served by a Rabba at Blue Jays Way, an M&M Meat Shop across the street on Front, a Fresh & Wild at King Street, but even that's a little more than walking distance for condo dwellers.

On Queens Quay, we've also got a Rabba at Rees and the Sobeys at York Street. People with more adventurous streak can go to the Loblaws on Jarvis but hey, we feel bad for the poor people who have to carry bags for two kilometres!

Yes, there are smaller markets at Bathurst, York and a Kitchen Table at Yonge but people want to stock up with real selection of groceries.

For our dollar, the Sobeys at Queens Quay is doing a great job serving the neighbourhood -- it's big enough and has the traffic to have a good turnaround in produce and meat, although the fish selection, we'll we're not sure. The deli counter and hot food area is really big -- do we really need pre-prepared food? And a nice touch -- a bakery!

That's a wavy deck: Simcoe Wavedeck

Across the street from the Rabba on Queens Quay, right beside the coffee shop and Paws pet store, is the next of the wave decks that are being built. It'll be finished this year, probably by the summer. Above are some pictures a few days ago.

Sure is more wavy than the Spadina Wavedeck.

Porter Airlines here to stay? Appears so

Ah, Porter Airlines. We do have a love-hate relationship with it. For one thing, isn't it grand that us Queens Quay residents can WALK to an airport and avoid the lineups at Pearson and a $50 plus cab ride (or $20 ride from the Airport Express pickup spot at the Westin). On the other hand, the noise, the frequency of planes flying over our neighbourhood.

The Globe and Mail has a story about Porter Airlines (you can read it here)

Air Canada, the old guard of Canadian airspace, spent the week teetering on the brink of bankruptcy, but Porter Airlines Inc., the 2½ -year-old upstart based out of the Toronto City Centre Airport, made headlines for a different reason. The tiny offshore airport played host to the federal government's announcement of $5-million in new spending for customs services at select airports, including Porter's on the Toronto Islands.
The funding, plus the government's decision to announce it at Porter's headquarters, was "a welcome endorsement of this airline," said Mr. Deluce. "The airport is maturing and coming of age and is now worthy of those more permanent facilities."

Translation: Porter is on the way up, not under.
And that means the long-running fight over whether the island closest to shore should host planes or a park is settled, at least for now.

The piece goes on to talk about the fight with Island activists. It looks like the airline, which is eyeing more markets like Washington, is expanding the number of flights.

"the company's recent decision to double the number of daily flights on the popular Montreal-Toronto route and bump the Toronto-Ottawa flight frequency by 50 per cent"

The circus is coming! Cirque de Soleil to close out Luminato on the waterfront

Very cool news. The very successful Luminato (you may remember the light show at Harbourfront Centre last year), is again making its mark on Queens Quay area. It's going to be quite the show. And it's free. Internationally known and Canadian-born circus, Cirque de Soleil, is holding a major event to close out the June festival. (See details)

For our closing weekend, Canada’s international entertainment company Cirque du Soleil® presents a special event created especially for Luminato. This event is an inquiry into the very essence of human civilization.

Beginning Friday night, two “communities” will form on the Toronto waterfront: one representing the natural world in which we have our instinctual roots and the urban community, the world we have constructed around ourselves. They’ll make their homes at opposite ends of the site, each in an environment antithetical to their respective world-view.

What will happen as the weekend unfolds and the two communities encounter and interact with each other? You’ll have to join in the festivities to find out – but expect to be amazed. Be sure to seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience Luminato and Cirque du Soleil as never before!

The National Post says it'll take place at the "Harbourfront Centre, the Toronto Music Garden, and HtO Park, Cirque du Soleil's waterfront visit is experiential with encounters happening"

We like the fact that HTO Park and the Music Garden will be part of this project, it takes it out of the central harbourfront and into the western part of the Queens Quay. Plus, Music Garden has interesting design that they could take advantage of.

Luminato runs from June 5 to June 14th, and this event is FREE and runs from the 12th to 14th.

Restaurant revived on Queens Quay?

So we were walking past Porticello last night and -- presto -- it had an open sign, had two tables and about eight people inside. Has it been revived after closing early last month? What's going on? Anyone know? We'll see if we can actually head there for a sit-down or takeout.

We've had a few good comments from readers of QQL about why restaurants are disappearing. We wrote earlier about Harbour Tandoori Grille closing.

Anonymous wrote:

Maybe the rents being charged by landlords for retail on Queen's Quay reflect that they are big-time developers of high rise apartment buildings who would rather have tenants with strong "corporate covenants" than independents who would contribute to the character and growth of the area. The rents at the foot of most of the buildings are unrealistic for any tenant other than formula-type franchises, be they food or cell-phones... Sadly, the closing of this Indian restaurant is just another example of poor planning when there were some good examples on this continent to look (eg Baltimore Inner Harbour) of those harbour front developments that have thought ahead and consequently now have diverse, evolving and sustainable retail destinations.

Very interesting observation. We have lots of 'chains' on the waterfront and does that really make sense or even encourage a unique neighbourhood. Maybe we need to support them while they (restaurants) need to adapt to a changing clientele.

'Channing' also wrote about the Indian takeout place.

i liked the indian place -- kinda messy, but the food was good. however, it's hard to tell if its demise was the result of stingy locals or what's going on in the wider economy. restaurants are suffering everywhere.

i was thinking of porticello the other day. i thought it'd do well after the hto park/spadina wavedeck opened, but obviously it didn't. however, now that i think about it, you could hardly notice it from the street. kinda sad.

It's true, and I think it goes back to outreach by restaurateurs. Maybe the build it and they will come won't work with everyone. We wonder why we never saw a flyer or any other way of building community. We note that in our condo, we see a few ads for Paws, the new pet store that's beside the Radisson. 

Photo of the week: At the foot of Yonge

Of course, it's Captain John's. That, er, restaurant at the foot on Yonge Street, on a winter's day.