The real Kim's Convenience store in Toronto is now a tourist attraction
A site of Canadian television history has now transformed into a popular attraction for tourists visiting Toronto from all over the world.
The famous destination in question was used for now iconic exterior shots of CBC Television award-winning sitcom Kim's Convenience.
The corner property sits at 252 Queen St. E. and depicts a Korean Canadian family that runs a convenience store in Toronto's Moss Park neighbourhood.
The show aired on CBC from 2016 to 2021, and began streaming on Netflix in 2018, making it available to audiences worldwide and solidifying its cult following.
Over the past few years, tourists to Toronto have added Kim's Convenience to their must-visit places, making it a busy attraction for all of the sitcom's fans.
My son made the trip from Seattle to Toronto and was excited to see that the Kim’s Convenience store is real, but he had a hard time separating truth from fiction when he didn’t see. @bitterasiandude or @andrewphung there. Oh well - life lessons 😉 pic.twitter.com/eXeYffcQxC
— Jason Colak (@JasonColak) September 17, 2022
Beloved Korean YouTuber and cookbook author Maangchi also made sure to visit the iconic store when she visited Toronto in June.
I'm here visiting Toronto! Just walking around I found the Kim's Convenience store which they used in the TV show. That's a real store! I regret not buying anything, even a bottle of water. : ) pic.twitter.com/kZDnRqEDum
— Maangchi (@maangchi) June 24, 2022
One person even said their son’s top request when visiting Toronto was to go check out the convenience store.
When we mentioned a road trip from Philadelphia to Toronto, our son's first question was "Can we go to Kim's Convenience?" Thanks for creating an amazing show that represents his Korean culture and diversity in general! @bitterasiandude @andrewphung @jean_yoon @SugithVarughese pic.twitter.com/uN0Rt3K89v
— Robert Becker (@beckerredden) September 18, 2022
Another person said they embarked on an eight-hour drive from Baltimore just to snag a picture in front of the classic storefront.
I used the "Let's go to a @BlueJays game!" excuse to go to Toronto and get a photo in front of the Kim's Convenience store front. We drove from Baltimore, Maryland, @bitterasiandude! #OKSeeYou pic.twitter.com/gQAehQvvbv
— Jackie Barrientes (@JBarrientes_DC) September 16, 2022
The long-established convenience store Mimi Variety was used for the exterior shots of the sitcom, and the owners have since retained the new signage.
Just recently, the entire building went up for sale for a whopping $3.9 million, and includes the business in the purchase price.
There's no telling how long the signage will stay up, so if you're a Kim's Convenience super-fan, be sure to grab your pictures ASAP.
