The LCBO's latest downtown shop, which opened on Dec. 9 at
the southeast corner of King and Spadina on the site of the old Budget car
rental lot, is the Board's stop-gap measure to quickly respond to exploding
demand in the condo-rich neighbourhood. The deal the Board signed with its
landlord on the site includes a provision to move to what LCBO spokesman Chris
Layton calls "a higher density location" � probably the bottom of a condo
building � as the landlord acquires more properties in the area.
"What our priority was here is that there was such a demand
for service in that area that we wanted to get into that particular location as
soon as we could," Layton says. "Our market research projects that the area's
population will grow by more than 40 per cent in the next 10 years.'
At 11,500 square feet, of which 8,000 is shopping space, the
new store is one of the 15 biggest in the city, carrying 2,150 kinds of liquor,
including a 500-strong Vintages fine wines and spirits section. The store employs 10 people, and features 6 check-outs in anticipation of steadily high traffic.
Writer: Bert Archer
Source: LCBO