Comment 79925

By Snooker (anonymous) | Posted August 18, 2012 at 11:38:31 in reply to Comment 79893

I think that what is essentially a grab-and-go concept is a rational response to a neighbourhood that quadruples its population (and probably octuples its disposable income) from 8am-6pm, but the location of the storefront is problematic in that it's essentially a storefront at King & James. Workers in the CIBC towers may duck across to shop on lunch or before leaving work, but by and large the clientele seems to be the Jackson Square regular.

FWIW, the downtown LCBO wasn't significantly better when it was located a kilometer west (York and Caroline, a couple doors down from the Barn -- back in the days when James North was able to support a Beer Store). At least now there are displays of Vintages-grade wine and spirits on either side of the entranceway. If they were truly focused on the "winos", there would be watering troughs filled with iced sixes of Yankee Jim and 40s of Maximum Ice by the cash. (As it is, those wares are at the very back of the store.)

But I the extent to which any retailer downtown can harness the consumer dollars of moneyed consumers will vary. Why, for example, are there almost no quality menswear stores located within 1km of King and James? (Remembering that Coppley's York Boulevard facility is not a retail location.) I think you could make the case for the LCBO being more of a barometer for the local consumer demographic than a pillar of urban economic development strategy.

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