Eat & Drink
LCBO Coming to King and Spadina
Buying liquor near King and Spadina will no longer mean heading to Liberty Village, Chinatown or the Financial District as the LCBO is preparing to open a big new store to serve the large condo district. If all goes according to plan the store will open in December.
News of this LCBO came over a year ago, when Councillor Adam Vaughan applauded the LCBO's decision to enter the neighbourhood but urged them to re-think the "fairly dead suburban-style frontage" that was planned in favor of a design that would mesh with the many little storefronts of the downtown location.
Now that the banner has gone up announcing the impending store opening, the LCBO has a plan that they think will suit the area.
"We have worked closely with [Adam Vaughan] to address some of his interests with regard to the design of the store," says the LCBO's Chris Layton, who also noted that a new store in this area is certainly needed thanks to the large influx of residents that came with the condos.
And those residents will probably be quite pleased to hear that the 11,500 square foot store will boast 8,500 square feet of shopping space, over 2,100 products and a very large Vintages section with over 500 fine wines and premium spirits.
Of course, as with all LCBO stores, regardless of how big, bright and airy (and this one will be all of those, boasting six checkouts and more than ample display space) - or small, dark and dingy - the monopoly on our access to liquor remains. Thus, I think that an LCBO at the intersection of two streetcar routes and within easy walking distance of residents, shoppers and tourists alike (not to mention some of the closest LCBO alternatives fit in the cramped and dingy category) the new LCBO at King and Spadina seems destined to wild success. Much like the new one in the Roncesvalles area is.
Lead mobile phone photo by Gary. Rendering via Adam Vaughan on flickr.
Discussion
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How wonderful in this day and age we are applauding this pitiful monopoly for opening a store. What a bunch of sheep we are in Ontario to put up with this crap. Privitize now.
This design looks almost exactly like the one in the north area of Waterloo...
I guess I'll have to wait till it's built to see the "customized" aspect of it
I have no problem with a 'public' LCBO, even though I fail to see much harm in allowing supermarkets to sell wine, as is done in Europe and much of the U.S. without difficulty.
That said, they do need to address location hours and quality if they want continued support from the public.
Particularly irksome is their very short Sunday hours (5 or maybe 6pm close) surely they could wait till dinner hour is over, say 8pm!
They also ought to have at least a few extended hours locations for shift workers. Not everyone works 9-5, and those getting off work at 12am, may not work at locations where its possible to bring a purchase to work and store it there.
In city the size of Toronto what would be wrong with having 3 stores, say, Queen's Quay, Summerhill and Bayview open till midnight or 1am, at least on the Fri/Sat?
Finally, they need more locations, and more good locations.
in the east end (core), there is only 1 modern LCBO, Queen & Coxwell. There are also huge gaps in the store network, such as no store along Danforth between Greenwood and Victoria Park.
YES!
YES!
YES!
The l-ceebs makes me happy. If it's anything like the Waterloo one - it'll rule! Waterloo had the first PARTY ZONE!
It looks like the LCBO just west of Spadina on Dupont. That itself is just a marginally smaller version of what you find in the suburbs. What exactly have they done to make it mesh with the community? Is it that tree there?
Looks like avoiding the 905 hasn't worked out for Mr. Vaughan, it's coming to him!
Slowly, slowly, Toronto creeps out of the 1950s...
I agree 100% with the privatization of liquor and wine sales in Ontario. Do you realize we get about a tenth of the diversity of products that can be found south of the border? Also, have you ever tried to find good examples of mature wine at the LCBO. Their policy is to buy massive amounts of young wine (not possible for small, quality conscious producers to produce) and to blow it out as quickly as possible. Even worse is the situation for those in the wine importing industry, who are repeatedly handcuffed by the policies put in place by the LCBO and the AGCO. Unfortunately we have little chance of seeing the fall of this lumbering juggernaut anytime soon.
On the plus side, I'm happy to not have to travel down to Queens Quay at rush hour to stock up on vino, provided it has a decent vintages section.
saw the banner there this morning and made me very happy.
i wonder how soon is coming soon.
Also, i agree with what Kevin posted above. I wish I have a more educated opinion on the entire privatization subject...
The rendering is so disappointing. Spadina and King deserves more than a single storey structure. We need higher density and mixed use.
More like this: http://www.traugott.com/gallery/show/big_box.html
On the S E corner? If so, then why is the building only 1 storey high?
Will it have a green roof like MEC?
LCBO architecture is pukeworthy. Blechhhhhhhhhhhh.
And I totally agree with the comment about the shitty hours the LCBO has.
That building is f'n hideous.
if you drink so much alcohol that you care about diversity of product (and thus promote privatization), may a suggest an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting? This is nothing to get worked up about. Drink some water for a change.
Hope there will be a Beer Store nearby to return my empties.
I'm in Boston visiting family right now.. as an example, the little grocery store across the street from where i'm staying sells that crappy yellowtail australian stuff for 4.99/bottle... it goes at the LCBO for, what, 12.99?
madness. ontarians are ripped off HUGE by the alcohol monopoly in this province.
If we are "ripped off" where does the money go? Oh yeah to the general revenue of the province. To pay for education, hospitals, etc. What a rip off.
For all the talk the city does about planning, about creating density, this is a complete joke. This is way too big an intersection to have a crappy one storey stucco building put on it. Someone has completely dropped the ball on this one.
YES.... LOVIN IT!!!
a wine rack at queen and bathurst, a beer store at queen and bathurst. A wine rack at King and Bathurst, and Now an LCBO.
This area is getting better and better LOVE IT!!!!
ohh its the privatization band wagon again.... YAWN....
To the MORON who stated,
"if you drink so much alcohol that you care about diversity of product (and thus promote privatization), may a suggest an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting? This is nothing to get worked up about. Drink some water for a change."
Were you born stupid, or did it take some effort in getting there?
There are certain Ontarians who would like to at least have a CHOICE outside of this archaic monopoly, with its jacked up pricing.
We have privatized liquor stores in Alberta--and pay the highest prices in Canada. Also, our liquor store employees get paid the least in Canada.
have to laugh at the big sign "lcbo coming soon" and yet the building is not even started yet so soon means next spring???? summer ???
For those of you wondering when it will open, as I mentioned in the article, the LCBO is targeting December 2009. Yes, this depends on things going according to plan, but at this point it's a construction effort, not a planning effort.
A one-storey LCBO is indeed underutilizing the current site, but according to sources over on Urban Toronto, the landowner not only owns this plot of land, but the Winners store site just south of it. Considering Winners will likely be vacating when they move into the former Home Depot, now Loblaws/Joe site at Queen and Portland, it's likely a more comprehensive and appropriate plan will be developed for the entire site and the site redeveloped when economic conditions improve. The building being constructed now is obviously of the cheap and replacable big-box variety for that very reason. It definitely is an improvement over a Budget truck rental/parking lot/empty lot it's been for years.
I can't believe that the city continues to allows single story single use buildings to be built in the downtown core. Let alone structures that look like they were plucked from a suburban mall. What is the vision for Toronto? This building will look rundown and out of place within 10 years. It's depressing.
don't forget E-Health!
This building won't exist in ten years.
Single storey fail.
LCBO, Beer Store, Shoppers Drug Mart, Rogers - enemies of density.
Its disappointing to see a single storey building but glad to know I don't have to travel far just for some wine, this location is much needed.
does anybody know the number to that LCBO Store. Trying to find the store manager's number so I can apply there.
I am pleased with the building's construction so far. I am sure it will look much better once complete. I am also seeking a phone number for application purposes.
I would like to apply for a part-time evening and weekend job LCBO Spadina and King - how may I connect with the Manager or any supervisory level staff to submit a resume prior to the opening on December 4th?
I'm curious about this myself...Any help fellow LCBO BlogTOers?
Grand Opening December 9th. Still have not found any means of applying for jobs at this location. They may already have their full staff. Any suggestions?
What a joke of a building. One storey piece of stucco clad crap. The LCBO are as rich as thieves and they spent virtually nothing on the construction budget. How about something with a little bit of a design rather than that stamped out building design you see in the 'burbs. Why does this junk get built? Urgh.!