New No Frills location set to open in Toronto and locals have mixed feelings

Loblaws is rapidly moving ahead with the sweeping expansion plans it shared earlier this year, the latest addition being a No Frills location just confirmed to be coming to Toronto's St. Lawrence neighbourhood.

The real estate management company behind a newly-completed condo tower at 75 the Esplanade, at the corner of Church Street, announced in a LinkedIn post this week that the discount supermarket chain will be taking over the development's prime ground-floor retail space.

And, while people are excited about the arrival of a new grocery store to serve the growing community, many are not pleased with the fact that it has to be owned by Loblaws.

In one Reddit post about the news, locals vented about how they feel as if the grocery giant has been taking over far too many spaces lately — especially concerning given the prevalence of competitor property controls that prevent other chains from moving in nearby.

"Nice try Loblaws, I still won't be shopping at your new No Frills locations. I feel surrounded by them now and I ain't buying it," one person wrote.

"Ugh. Two of the grocery stores in the Liberty Village area just became No Frills at almost the same time," another said, referencing the King West Independent City Market that was converted to a No Frills in the spring, and the No Frills city concept store that debuted in July in what was formerly a much smaller indie competitor, Organic Garage.

Still others called for their peers to continue boycotting No Frills and all other Loblaws-owned stores, a consumer action that took place for the duration of May but which some have vowed to continue indefinitely.

As they should be… they’re talking expansions while Canadians are struggling to afford groceries! Lay off that for a year or 2 and let Canadians level out for a second…

— Anthony Corsi (@big_tweeze) February 20, 2024

A huge part of Loblaw Companies Inc.'s latest growth spurt is a focus on its discount banners, with 40 more of these stores on the way, including a No Frills in the old Linen Chest at Richmond and John Streets, one replacing the Loblaws at 720 Broadview Ave. and the two mentioned in Liberty Village.

The company also said it will expand or relocate another 10 of its stores and renovate more than 700 others, the costs for which some the corporation's suppliers have told blogTO they are somehow partially on the hook for.