Metro Eyesore

I shop at that Dominion almost every night. As with the Dome, I will continue to call all Dominion locations Dominion. I whole heartedly agree, this name change makes no sense at all. However I feel like this main picture is a little misleading. Not pictured below the sign is a fenced off area with a lift- preparations to finally change the sign.

You're right, their only competitive advantage is location. But it's a big one. Until I gave up my car and moved to the city I had probably never been in a Dominion more than a handful of times. Not it is the only place I get groceries outside of some weekend trips to the markets. I do so reluctantly but how could I not shop there when they have THREE locations on my subway trip home?

But they have rolling baskets!

And are the closest 24 grocery store to me, and the ability to do my shopping at 3am always wins points with me.

Welcome to the world of corporate takeovers and streamlining. There's a little bit of CityNews-esque sensationalism in this post here though I'll give you credit that it was prefaced with a "This is a Rant" disclaimer. First of all, the name change was announced three months ago, but the official launch of the new brand happened only one month ago. At some stores, the sign change happened immediately, like at the College Park store, where it was converted within days. Is it realistic to expect a company to change all their signage in a month at every single store? Not to mention the photo attached clearly states the store is under renovation, which means they probably just haven't gotten to signage. As for the Metro name, it is very well known in Quebec... and if Montrealers aren't confused between getting onto the Metro and stepping into a grocery store, then I'm sure Toronto will do just fine. And last, Dominion/Metro has done well because of their locational advantage, but that in itself is a business decision. I tend to look upon Sobeys and Metro as being good grocery stores for locating their stores in urban locations that fit well in the built context. Sobeys has done extremely well with their urban markets in this regard. Metro/Dominion has done a decent job as well (Front St, College Park to name a couple) and they have some awesome deals once and awhile, like 5 for $10 Chunky soup with 10 bonus air miles? Score!

I still call them Miracle Foodmart. That's just how I roll.

Another comment: Bloor & Spadina location now has blue bins for plastic bag "recycling." Anyone got the 411 on these? Why don't they just switch to paper?

I hate how narrow the aisles are now, and how tall they've stacked the shelves. It feels very claustrophobic and is a total clusterfuck on a busy day. I really wish that Metro wasn't so close and convenient for me, because if there was a competing store in the same vicinity, I'd drop them completely in a heartbeat. In fact, I've actually been going out of my way as of late to shop at a Loblaw's, which is a much more pleasant experience.

the architect/designer responsible should be fired and NEVER HIRED AGAIN, unless it's to stock the cereal isle.

Anna - What expiry date switching scandal? Do you have any more info on it?


And the Metro thing is so unspeakably dumb its not funny. I still have problems calling it Dominion instead of Miracle! When I think of metro I think of subways, civic centers, and guys who wear tight jeans, not an overpriced supermarket that sells crappy and overpriced hot foods.

chephy, a lot of things can contribute to that higher cost. The two you mentioned, being open 24 hours and more urban locations are most definitely factors that affect the price of the products.

In my area the Dominion/Metro is by far the cleanest grocery store. The Loblaws nearby is terrible, I refuse to step foot in the Price Chopper for fear of getting food poisoning and the No Frills....well, it's a No Frills.

Yeah, they're more expensive, but I rarely see the 'cheaper' places as being cleaner with better produce. The one exception of course is the Dominion/Metro at Spadina/Bloor. Always poorly stocked, cleaned and maintained. Perhaps this is where people are taking their comparison from?

Speaking with (sorry I don't recall your name, you work at the Rosedale diner!) a girl who writes for City Bites, she mentioned that the No Frills at Dufferin/Dundas was her favourite grocer in town... she's reviewed a handful of grocery and food markets and picked No Frills as her top chain too.

Having moved from uptown where the No Frills stores are suuuuuper large and clean, the new Metro does nothing for me. Not to mention the ridiculous pricings. Most of their sales are not even considered sales! I find the College Park location is always out of stock, which is understandable because there are so many condo buildings around the area. I find the Metro in the Ryerson campus to be much better. The lines though, they kill me.

Jason- that picture is awful.. is it 1983 or 2008?

I cant believe how expensive the downtown 'Metros' and Sobey's are. Every item they carry is almost $1.00 above regular market pricing. Do yourself a favour and make the trip out to a No Frills or Price Chopper, the savings will more than offset the travel costs.

Greg: pssst... Food Basics is owned by Metro/A&P/Dominion. No Frills is owned by Loblaws/Great Canadian Superstore and Price Chopper is owned by Sobeys/IGA/Foodland. Just so you know where your food dollar is going.

My local Metro is somewhat of an improvement. They've brought in a lot more high-end products appropriate to the neighborhood and the store is cleaned up.

Compared to sprawling Loblaws, I much prefer a grocery store that mostly sells groceries and not BBQs, lawn chairs, light fixtures, clothes, and kids toys. You should not have to walk a mile for a bag of milk.

I live in Little Italy and avoid this store if I can help it. I typically drive to the No Frills on Landsdowne. This Dominion/Metro is always packed and the lay-out of the check-out is ridiculuous. The prices do not justify the quality and it always seems to be out of stock of the items that I am shopping for. I hope one day that a No Frills opens in this location and an LCBO opens in the vacant former Rogers video.

food basics is NOT cheap. their sale prices are rarely better than no frills base prices, especially on produce. everything else is massively expensive as well, and their house-label sucks balls. and at the gerrard square location, they are always incredibly understaffed at the checkout.

i'm lucky enough to live in close proximity to three other major grocery stores (no frills, loblaws, price chopper) around leslieville. i agree with a couple previous posters -- loblaws for experience, no frills for prices. the NF at gerrard/carlaw is more than decent.

Metro has convenient locations and 24 hours. I am willing to pay more money for this. Love the reno at Bloor & Spadina. They managed to fit more selection into a tiny store.

As for the name? Not a big deal. The "Sears" at the Eaton Centre (formerly Eatons) has grown on people and the same will happen with metro. Is the name confusing? How often do you end up in a sandwich shop when you are looking for the train (Subway)?

Sorry, I meant "right now."

I shop at Dominions and now "Metro" quite often and honestly, I don't see the difference. They are both overpriced stores. By the way, Metro is not a "contemporary" shop and I don't see how the logo is worst than Dominions, they are both red and ugly. Metro has been around for years but it's a Quebec chain so it's not very "new".

A good thing at Metro on Front Street is the beef. The angus beef - - nice fresh selection. And at least they have a decent selection of sale-priced frozen fisth. Oh, and the metro potato chips rock.

Everything else is waaaaaaaaaaaaaay overpriced. 3.99 a pound for green peppers???? Helllooooo?

Dear Seriously,
In case you forgot, last night at around 4am you wrote a really stupid comment based on a 8 month old comment. Thanks for the laugh!
Love, Me

Metro sucks because they are from Quebec! It's very simple...they are arrogant enough to ASSUME that the people in the rest of the country are morons!
I just looked at their flyer...um...THE SALE PRICES ARE HIGHER THAN THE REGULAR PRICES AT ANY COMPETITION! They'll go broke soon and then there'll be plenty of space available for decent shopping...

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