Eat & Drink
Coming Soon to Queen and Bathurst: Starbucks
The much maligned corner of Queen and Bathurst will get a bit of a facelift later this summer in the shape of Starbucks. The world's most loved and/or derided coffee chain is moving into the north east corner that was formerly a Mr. Sub.
Construction is already underway which means it won't be too long before two of the city's most ubiquitous chains - Pizza Pizza being the other one - share an intersection with the notorious Big Bop and The Meeting Place.
While any new, stable business is surely a good sign for this intersection, it remains to be seen whether the Starbucks will be welcomed into the neighbourhood. The stretch of Queen between Augusta and Palmerston is already stacked with cafes. Earlier this year Just Us! couldn't make a go of it as it failed to win customers from neighbourhood favourites like Tequila Bookworm and Java House.
Also nearby are a mix of newcomers including Niche and La Merceria as well as long time residents Artistic Grounds who attract a loyal following.
Nevertheless, I won't be expecting the same reaction that greeted the arrival of the Starbucks in Leslieville or further west at Dovercourt.
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http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28657
I'll save my genuine tears for the day when the hardware store just west of there shuts its doors and is replaced by another gallery or fashion shop.
Sorry, but Jesus I think any sort of established business going into the area will be GOOD for everyone. That includes a Tim Hortons at the old Queens Head which has been like five different places since I moved to Toronto.
It's a short walk either way down Queen to a much better coffee spot. Starbuck's goes for the "whatever is familiar is best" crowd of passers-by though, not people who care to find something better.
I lived around there for a decade, and I saw things I'll never forget. The only establishment that came close to having such a bad impact on the area was Bassmint. By day, you had Meeting Place regulars on your back steps huffin' glue and takin' dumps. By night, it was drugged-out, pacifier-wearing suburban Bassmint teens having social crises.
I'm not a Starbucks fan, but...
Also, there's already a Starbucks at Claremont.
While they're at it, they should nuke that halfway house on the northwest corner. This area has so much potential if you can just expunge the filth!
I've worked at Queen & Bathurst for a couple of years now (in the Orient Building seen in the picture) and I've never experienced any of the problems that people seem to think go on here. It's a mixed-class neighborhood and has been for a good while, but I'm hoping that when a business like Starbucks and their clientele start looking around, they don't start complaining about the "filth" and try to make it go away. Gentrification's ugly side likes to think that they can make what they don't want to see disappear, even if it's not theirs to make disappear, but it ends up pushing places like The Meeting Place further into society's wasteheap, and that doesn't help anyone involved. I sincerely hope that the addition of Starbucks won't change the dynamic of the neighborhood as much as most people think it will, but I don't know exactly what to expect when it opens.
On the other hand, I can't believe how fascinated we are with the fact that a store is opening somewhere. Isn't this borderline obsession, or something?
Anyways, I think this type of development is highly needed here. I give props to Lalot (just north of Q&B) for taking the risks first and popping in that neighbourhood. There are plenty of upper-class, middle-class, and ... Meeting place people in the neighbourhood. It is time this neighbourhood reflected the people who live in the area more. Enough of the F*cking squeegy kids, I tell you every single morning NO.
It's certainly not surprising Starbucks would open up here, there's a new condo going up at Portland, a block away, and the Burroughes building next to the Bebop club is being condo-ized by the same people, Tribute Communities. There seems to be a general development push, and the destruction of half that block in the recent fire heralds more development.
Strategically they're placing themselves in between two Second Cups, one at Palmerston and one at Augusta. There is a Starbucks at Claremont and another at Spadina, but you'd have to pass by a Second Cup to get to either of those, and the Spadina & Richmond Starbucks is always really busy.
Is Tim Hortons really opening in the old Kings Head? That seems really out of place around here for some reason.