Loblaws and Superstore ?

[2ottman]

Is it just me or has it become increasingly more difficult to find basic food staples at these stores?
I Yesterday it was extra old cheddar cheese and I was also told that they would no longer be carrying cracked wheat bread. I have not been able to find my cats favourite food either.
Whats the point of going to a destination point to buy all your groceries when you now have to search out the unavailable items?

[eskay]

Agreed. In fact, I decided this weekend, after failing to find several things on my list, to try and find alternative sources for the few PC products that I'm in the habit of buying to get rid of any hold the Loblaws chain has on my buying habits. I'm fed up.

[Kagemusha]

The entire NG supply chain suffers from chronic malfunction. It's laughable to find bizarre discrepancies among Loblaws, Superstore and NoSkills outlets. What pisses me off is the attention and floor space lavished on Joe-- the pathetic Mimran schmatte debacle--when the produce sucks and the fish stinks to high hell. The big Mississauga stores' customers are sparse; most use them for take-out food or as monster Mac's Milks. My view? The whole Weston show is circling the drain.

[Restaurant Dish]

Agree entirely. Makes me sad to think of what Loblaws used to be and what it is now. How did they go so wrong? Was it greed? Inexperience in how to expand? With all that money, can they really not find someone to fix up the business? Did they watch the U.S. too closely in terms of the big box stores and think that would work so successfully here? It clearly hasn't or maybe the other options were and are doing it just that much better? I don't know, it's just too bad. Loblaws used to be the best shopping experience, especially when Dave Nichol was there.

Having said all that, I do have to point out that the Loblaws at Yonge St., just south of York Mills is the exception. I don't shop there that often, partly because I forget it's there but on par with Pusateri's and Longos in many cases with produce and have found some nice things there. But it's is surely the exception in the chain.

P.S. With regards to the "schmatta", very funny. Did you happen to catch Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags on HBO recently? 1965 U.S. used to manufacture 95% of the clothing sold in U.S. 2008, they manufacture 5% in U.S. Sadly, I don't think we're that far off here in Canada.

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Pusateri's
1539 Avenue Rd, Toronto, ON M5M, CA

[embee]

Galen Sr and Hillary were touring their beautifully renovated fifty-something year old little store at Bayview & Moore a couple of weeks ago - a store they once expected to close when they opened their big box on Laird. Does this mean anything? Damned if I know. It ain't Wegman's, but they did a really nice job for once. It's very different from the Superstores.

[Yongeman]

Embee, what is, "...their big box on Laird."?

[Atahualpa]

I believe embee means the Redway Dr. location.

[Yongeman]

Oh...I was actually there last night. It was almost empty at 8:00. I can't believe that it can actually be making any $$. It's always almost empty.

[jennjen18]

Does that one (Yonge and York Mills) have parking? It vaguely rings a bell... but is Richtree there too?

[embee]

Surface and underground parking with trees growing in the underground. The entire building is made of cedar. That was a one-off store, designed more than twenty years ago to placate the rich and powerful neighbours who didn't want a supermarket sullying their domain. They used to have a Movenpick (pre-Richtree) Marche Lino - which is long gone. There will never be another Loblaw's like that one.

[TorontoJo]

The Richtree you are thinking of is at Bayview and York Mills. The Loblaws is on Yonge, about a kilometer south of York Mills. It's one of the "Loblaw Great Food" locations.

[pescatarian]

There used to be a Movenpick, now Richtree at the Loblaws at Yonge and York Mills also, in addition to the Richtree at Bayview and York Mills. I haven't been to the Yonge and York Mills one recently, so I don't know if the Richtree is still there.

[TorontoJo]

Right! Sorry, I forgot about that. It's still there, but I'm not sure it's branded Richtree anymore. They still serve coffee, fresh OJ and have sandwiches and such and a couple tiny tables, I think. I walk past it a couple of times a week but it doesn't register with me, so I blanked. :)

[Full tummy]

I think the days of Movenpick/Richtree in Loblaws are long gone. Loblaws now makes its own sandwiches, muffins, etc. So, no, there's no Richtree in that Loblaws, not that I saw when last there a couple of months ago, anyway.