The Evolution of Urban Retail

2. Grocery Game Changers - Toronto
Supermarkets are Better Than Ever
The future of grocery shopping is here—and it
means sprawling spaces, cult-favourite
products, urban gourmet grocers and even a
10,000-square-foot playground.
Toronto Life Magazine, March 18, 2019.
MILES OF
AISLES

3. GROCERY
SHOPPINGat Toronto’s new supermarkets can be an all-
day (in a good way!) affair. Here, a look inside
Nations Experience, downtown’s Market 63 and
Farm Boy.

4. NATIONS
EXPERIENCE

5. A 155,000-square-foot supermarket with an arcade, a
playground and all-day dim sum. Nations has opened its
biggest location yet at the Stock Yards Village in the
Junction. Nearly three times the size of its predecessors,
Nations Experience (and boy, is it ever an experience), has
moved into the 155,000-square-foot space left behind by
Target. Nations puts all other grocery store “international”
aisles to shame: the brand’s “where east meets west”
philosophy means the shelves, refrigerated cases and
freezers are chock full of otherwise hard-to-find products,
from the Caribbean to the Philippines, all under one gigantic
roof. But it’s so much more than that. The “foodertainment”
store (Nations’ words, not ours) is part supermarket, part
quick-service restaurant and part … amusement park. Let’s
take a look around…
INSIDE
NATIONS
EXPERIENCE

35. MARKET 63

36. Downtown dwellers have a new one-stop gourmet-grocery
shop. Coppa’s Fresh Market has opened a multi-concept
retail space on the second level of the Harbour Plaza
complex at 1 York Street. The independent, family-owned
grocer’s first downtown location offers a hot table with an
extensive selection of prepared foods, a bakery, a gelato bar,
a butcher (with a fridge full of dry-aged beef), a fish counter
and a deli. Chef and MasterChef Canada host Claudio Aprile
(Copetin, Origin, Colborne Lane) has also joined the team as
Coppa’s executive chef in charge of the prepared foods
kitchen. The on-site eatery, Nonna Francesca’s Ristorante, is
run by executive chef Roberto Granata (Mela Café, Il
Fornello) and serves familiar favourites like pizza and pasta,
as well as some southern Italian dishes. Coming soon: online
grocery orders for same day pick-up.
INSIDE
MARKET 63

72. FARM BOY

73. Inside Toronto’s first Farm Boy, their new 20,000-square-
foot supermarket. The company that started as a family-
owned produce stand 35 years ago just opened a 20,000-
square-foot store in Etobicoke and immediately followed
that with an urban location at Leslie & Lakeshore Blvd.
They’re Farm Boy’s 25th and 26th locations, but the first in
Toronto—though up to 15 additional GTA and Golden
Horseshoe locations are in the works. We stopped by on
opening day to see what’s quite literally in store for Farm
Boy shoppers, including goods from more than 100 local
producers and over 500 of Farm Boy’s private label
products.
INSIDE
FARM BOY

105. LET’S TALK…
Edward Rajewski
Retail & Brand Strategy
SJC Content
M +1 416 618 6274
edward.rajewski@stjoseph.com
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Michael Jenkins
Director, Business Development
SJC Content
T 416 248 4868 X 2501 M 416 624 3274
michael.jenkins@stjoseph.com