Toronto General

All things Canadian.

Moderator: Groceteria

Post Reply
User avatar
Groceteria
Great Pumpkin
Posts: 1927
Joined: 04 Nov 2005 12:13
Location: In the breakroom
Contact:

Toronto General

Post by Groceteria »

Having recently visited, I've now (of course) become fascinated with Toronto.

Per my handy shopping center guide from 1964, the biggies at that time were:

-- A&P
-- Dominion
-- Loblaw's
-- Steinberg's

The big players now are:

-- A&P/Dominion/Food Basics
-- Loblaw's/No Frills
-- Sobey's/Price Chopper/IGA

A&P acquired Dominion in the 1980s, but what happened to Steinberg's? Per Wikipedia, their stores were former Grand Union stores purchased by the Steinbergs in 1959. Another post here suggested that the Steinberg family of Montreal also owned Miracle Mart stores and that these may have been sold to A&P at some point. Is this true, and does it also apply to Steinberg's?

Also, I know all the A&P stores in Toronto were eventually rebranded as Dominion units. How about the Food Basics stores? Are they mostly recycled Dominion and/or A&P real estate?

Same question applies to No Frills and Price Chopper stores. Are they mostly castoffs from Loblaw's and Sobey's, respectively?

I've also been told that Safeway had a Toronto presence at some point, and that Sobey's took over at least one of their stores. I looked for the Sobey's location in question (Mount Pleasant near St. Clair), but it appears to have relocated or maybe to have been rebuilt on the same site.

Any Toronto trivia is actively solicited.

EDITED: To reflect Steinberg-Grand Union connection.
dominion301
Contributor
Posts: 23
Joined: 10 Feb 2007 00:02

Re: Toronto General

Post by dominion301 »

Groceteria wrote: A&P acquired Dominion in the 1980s, but what happened to Steinberg's? Per Wikipedia, their stores were former Grand Union stores purchased by the Steinbergs in 1959. Another post here suggested that the Steinberg family of Montreal also owned Miracle Mart stores and that these may have been sold to A&P at some point. Is this true, and does it also apply to Steinberg's?
A&P acquired all Steinberg's stores under the Miracle Mart and Ultra Mart banners in Ontario from Steinberg's (who were in deep financial trouble caused by family infighting) around 1990. In southeastern Ontario where Steinberg's operated under their own banner (mostly around Ottawa), the stores were sold to Loblaws, while their larger Quebec operations went to Metro.
Groceteria wrote: Also, I know all the A&P stores in Toronto were eventually rebranded as Dominion units. How about the Food Basics stores? Are they mostly recycled Dominion and/or A&P real estate?

Same question applies to No Frills and Price Chopper stores. Are they mostly castoffs from Loblaw's and Sobey's, respectively?
Yes most Food Basics are recycled A&Ps, Dominions, Miracle Marts and Ultra Marts. Except new-builds, No Frills are ex-Loblaws or other and/or extinct Loblaws banners like ValuMart and Mr. Grocer. Price Choppers are primarily ex-IGA and Food City. Sobey's first foray into Ontario was by acquiring the Oshawa Group (HQ is an eastern suburb city of the GTA). Oshawa operated Food City and most IGAs in the province.
Groceteria wrote: I've also been told that Safeway had a Toronto presence at some point, and that Sobey's took over at least one of their stores. I looked for the Sobey's location in question (Mount Pleasant near St. Clair), but it appears to have relocated or maybe to have been rebuilt on the same site.
Yes Safeway had a small presence around Toronto. I think their easternmost Canadian store was in Belleville, Ont. All of these stores were acquired by the Oshawa Group sometime in the late '80s. Now Safeway is only in Ontario from Thunder Bay west...not much of a presence anymore.
User avatar
Groceteria
Great Pumpkin
Posts: 1927
Joined: 04 Nov 2005 12:13
Location: In the breakroom
Contact:

Re: Toronto General

Post by Groceteria »

Thanks. That clarifies it all beautifully. So I assume IGA Canada operated in the same co-op/franchise manner as its US cousin, rather than as an actual one-owner chain.

Any specific Tornoto-area ex-Safeway locations I could scout on my next visit?
dominion301
Contributor
Posts: 23
Joined: 10 Feb 2007 00:02

Post by dominion301 »

Groceteria wrote:Thanks. That clarifies it all beautifully. So I assume IGA Canada operated in the same co-op/franchise manner as its US cousin, rather than as an actual one-owner chain.

Any specific Tornoto-area ex-Safeway locations I could scout on my next visit?
Yeah the Loeb family of Ottawa controlled much of the IGA empire. Loeb nowadays is a Metro banner, while Sobeys is pretty much an IGA banner...I guess the IGAs are still franchises.

None that spring to mind. However, I know for a fact the Price Chopper in Belleville 1.5 hrs east of Toronto is an ex-Safeway. It's only a couple of minutes off of Hwy 401.

One store I'd recommend visiting is this Dominion in Mississauga (western Toronto suburb).

It's one of the few A&P/Dominions left that still has a parcel pickup.

Here's a couple of pics I've taken of it: http://www.flickr.com/photos/78111739@N ... 404409234/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/78111739@N ... 404409234/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/78111739@N ... 404409234/

I have a few more photos of it there on Flickr too.

It's located at 406 Lakeshore Rd. E. http://www.freshobsessed.com/storeLocat ... oreLocator
User avatar
Groceteria
Great Pumpkin
Posts: 1927
Joined: 04 Nov 2005 12:13
Location: In the breakroom
Contact:

Post by Groceteria »

Thanks. I'm going to start a separate topic on Safeway Toronto locations in the other forum, which I probably should've done before:

http://www.groceteria.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=1130
Post Reply