New No Frills location to open in a very unexpected Toronto building

Loblaw-owned discount grocer No Frills will be opening a new location in a somewhat unexpected location in the heart of downtown Toronto.

No Frills is preparing to set up shop within the RioCan Hall complex at Richmond and John streets, a building best known as the home of Scotiabank Theatre Toronto in the city's Entertainment District.

According to property owner RioCan, No Frills has leased a 10,914 square-foot space on the ground floor of the complex's Richmond Street frontage — immediately adjacent to the main entrance for the major movie theatre sharing the property.

The space in question was formerly occupied by Linen Chest, which shuttered this location in 2023.

RioCan Hall is currently planned to be redeveloped with a massive high-rise complex. However, news of the No Frills indicates that these plans may be on the back-burner for now.

Bye bye, Scotiabank Theatre | via @blogto https://t.co/CFkZgiEIaQ pic.twitter.com/bfJaXNZwPH

— Doc Planer (@doctorplaner) May 4, 2019

blogTO has reached out to Loblaw seeking a planned opening date for the new grocery store.

The new No Frills location is just the latest news related to a massive long-term expansion by Loblaw that will introduce more than 40 "new discount stores" nationwide, in addition to revamping about 700 other existing stores.

News of this latest No Frills location comes amid unprecedented anger over the rising cost of groceries, which has been met with a month-long boycott of Loblaw-owned stores, including No Frills.

Despite the boycott, data shows Galen Weston's grocery empire is only growing wealthier in 2024.