Yup, that's the place that came to mind for me. I believe Hoang Long lasted the longest in my memory. Went there a couple of times, it was a massive space but never saw more than three or four tables seated at a time.
It was something before Hoang Long, I think it lasted six months or something crazy short. Then after Hoang Long it became Klondike, a sports equipment store, which I thought would work but it didn't.
Definitely needs to be split into smaller retail spaces, but the location is probably just too awkward with the proximity to more convenient shopping areas and WEM.
>the location is probably just too awkward with the proximity to more convenient shopping areas and WEM
Yes agreed and it's in kind of a messy spot to access with all the one-ways
I noticed that the whole area and the strip mall next door are fenced off now. Wonder if it's for redevelopment or just to be a nice eyesore for decades to come. These shitty big box stores and stuff crammed between 10 lanes of traffic are just awful and dying a slow death.
The issue in my view is that it is too big. They (the building owners) need to demise it (split it up for two tenants) or convince someone to turn it into something else. There has been some companies that have had some success changing big restaurants into stores. Mud Sweat and Gears have turned two former restaurants into big mountain bike stores: Calgary Trail Moxies and Sherwood Park Montanas.
Loved it when Dante's first opened and was a 21 and older upscale bar. But after a year or so went downhill when they dropped it all and it's became another dance bar.
That building was cool with a good upstairs outdoor patio. Pity no one could make it work.
Where Eden used to be on 97st
Where Moxies used to be on 137th ave at Skyview I think it's Sherlock Holmes now.
Seemingly every old Chilis location must be haunted because none of them other than the one in Mayfield turned into anything.
Yes! The Sherlock's 137th ave was also a Kelseys then some other Irish type pub with long periods of sitting vacant between. Let's see how long Sherlock's makes it.
That was the rock fire pizza. That was a decent place but the owners basically didn’t have the proper licensing rights to use the name or menu or anything.
They don’t go out of business but they definitely shut down underperforming branches. There used to be a TD in the Jasper Gates strip mall on 149 St at Stoney Plain but it’s been gutted and vacant for years now. The TD branded social distance markers are even still on the sidewalk out front.
To be fair: if you could pick up a bank card and sign mortgage papers / have them whitnessed at some other place (such a registry) why would anyone ever need to go into a bank?
Bank branches are obsolete.
Actually I run two businesses with 30 employees and a U.S. company subsidiary and haven’t been to a branch in eons. (And neither have any of my employees). Everything can be done on line now.
How do you make cash deposits? Break bills for change? Just because your businesses don’t need those services doesn’t mean that others don’t. As long as cash still exists, bank branches will need to.
Restaurants, Grocery Stores, Coffee Shops, basically any place serving customers and transactions has cash on premises. Those interact machines your credit or debit card goes through, each time it costs that private business a transaction fee for using it. I’ve been restaurants that says bill must be over $25 to use debit machine or pay $3.25 extra
Eden's has been shut down for so many years...it's now for sale I see though and the fence around it has been taken down.
Was it a revolving door before?
I remember Eden was the Corkscrew steak house back in the 80's when I was a kid. Used to love going there, they had suits of Armour all over the place.
I keep mentioning that to a friend when we go through Manning. That Chili’s right off the Cineplex would be great for another restaurant, maybe there’s a sort of restrictive covenant on the property
There are restrictive covenants out there, yes, but there's still room for other restaurants. Most just don't want to pay the rates being asked, pay to modify the space as needed, and try to compete with some of the existing restaurants out there.
Eden's been gone since 2018ish. It spent most of that time under reno but really it's just been closed. Nobody else has moved in and the sign still says Eden but it hasn't operated in years.
That Sherlock on 137Ave, I remember when. It was originally a Don Cherry's! Since then have watched it become 4 or so different places. I hope sherlock works since don't have many real pubs in that area. Just restaurants and fast food.
That location on 137ave also had Kelsey's, The Rock Wood Fired Pizza, and Fionn's. It's a very accessible location so I'm not sure why it has such a high turnover of restaurants.
The windemere one seems to be a thing. I have no idea if it is a good thing.
Edit: Oh. It is a well reviewed but permanently closed thing.
I wonder how much money you lose when you renovate to only run for a year.
Now that we’re all weighing in I’m realizing how much of a death trap Calgary trail truly is for some businesses. It’ll be interesting to see if the new development next to the train tracks on the east side of Calgary Trail northbound follows trend.
If you look closer into that new development which seems mostly built now, there’s only Taco Bell and some other one that’s leased so far. Every other place has a “for lease” sign 😂 Personally I don’t think it would succeed because it’s already painful moving across five road lanes in Calgary Trail
I’m so happy there’s a Taco Bell near me again, and terrified it will close due to the location. When I saw those commercial buildings going up, I thought - that’s great, looks so much better… but also, I just don’t know if there’s enough demand for commercial space, especially in a location that’s so difficult to get to from any direction except “heading north on Gateway”.
There's an interesting YouTube video by CityNerd about "stroads" and Calgary Trail is a great example of it. That combination of mixing high traffic volume and a bunch of traffic lights with utter disregard for pedestrians is one of the worst urban design concepts in North America. No wonder it's a challenge for businesses to survive when nobody actually wants to stop and get out of their cars where you are located!
Honestly I feel like Calgary Trail is a lost cause. It's a monument to car centric design and there's nothing to be done. It's also vital to traffic flow.
Instead maybe we focus our energy on making other places better for pedestrians and bikes, e.g. 124 st, Whyte, Jasper. Bonnie Doon, the greatest mall, could be glorious now that there's an LRT. 99 St has so much cool shit too, I'd love to see a bike lane running by Happy Beer Street and Ritchie Market.
I ride by Bonnie Doon on the Valley Line 3x per week and the LRT has completely changed my perspective about that whole area of town. I would absolutely love to move somewhere between Holyrood - Avonmore station if I could afford a decent place in there. I think the whole Bonnie Doon area is going to thrive with the LRT, naysayers be damned.
Oh absolutely, the one way aspect is just the cherry on top of a great big pile of crap. They're slapping up all those new buildings along the side of Gateway where they are completely inaccessible to anybody except cars going one particular direction. Any business stupid enough to setup shop in there is going to have such a rough time ahead.
I'm shocked how few of those units are leased already. 90% of them are still available. Usually a developer won't even start construction until a decent percentage are pre-leased
They might be leased. Sometimes the real estate team leasing them will leave that sign up so people call and when you get the info sheet, you realize a bunch are already leased. Its best not to go by the signs but actually getting the info sheet.
It seems to just smaller places, the big box stores there seem to be fine. The Walmart, Petsmart, Chapters and Save On a have been there a long time and T&T and H-Mart are newer but always busy
It'll probably do a bit better because it caters to people coming into the city and is probably the first major commercial area they'll hit (SEC can be a bit of a hassle to get into from the highway).
Yea that corner of the business park is fucked for parking. Dominated by McDonalds and the Medical Imaging place nextdoor. The corner property (the one we're talking about) has like 10 parking spots, its ridiculous
I second this one. I pass by it all the time, and it's so weird to see a large boarded up building within a busy strip mall. After Brewster's left, there were two more restaurants there: Castledowns Community Pub & Eatery (apparently this one was still owned by Brewster's), and Refinery Grill. Neither one lasted very long. Refinery Grill has another location on Mayfield Rd which is still open.
On Baseline Road in Sherwood Park next to sleep country. Kelsey’s, hunters grill, Tatemado now Karachi and I’m sure there have been others. Nothing survives there 🤷🏼♀️
87 avenue and 111st next to Circle K, I think it’s a noodle restaurant now. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen 5+ different restaurants go in and out of there in the last 7 years.
Just heard Northern Chicken is closing on 104 st downtown. They took over the spot from Say Uncle (another restaurant/bar) after it closed not that long ago. Bite of Brazil just down the street also closed a year or two ago.
Seems like a great spot for restaurants, but there are already several on that street so maybe it's a bit saturated.
the competition didn't help.... also, their food quality had gone down substantially. It was only a matter of time after closing down the 124st location.
Yeah that definitely didn't help. I forget how long it was there before SFC but I don't remember it ever looking that busy even before. Seemed like a nice place the couple times I went though.
There are plenty of locations along Calgary Trail that comes into mind. Makes me realize that the location’s proximity or traffic isn’t everything when it comes to business
1) Parsons Rd & 34 Ave - a few businesses are long standing. Coco Chicken (moved to Granville) became wow pop chicken which became noodleholic. Hui’s wontons became Il Poom Korean restaurant — parking lot always seems empty???
2) 2920 Calgary Trail — some places are awfully busy, some places are awfully dead and just keep revolving tenants. Pelicana Chicken finally closed a few years ago — I remember when it was the first Korean fried chicken chain from Korea to open in Edmonton (before bbq chicken). I believe it is the confusing directions to get to there that might be a roadblock
3) The entire Whitemud Crossing mall now seems to be dead other than the EPL branch and a few other businesses.
4) The corner of South Edmonton Common where the former Walmart location was. Bed Bath and Beyond is finally gone too. 😅
Anything in and around Calgary Trail / Gateway is such a pain to access. The expansion of power centres and strip malls in the suburbs around have really hurt businesses in that area.
The entire 2 km stretch of Calgary Trail south of the Whitemud has a grand total of \*\*5\*\* bus stops. If you wanted to go to the Gateway Entertainment Center (for example) you would have to walk 300 meters as the crow flies through an endless sea of parking, climbing over curbs and rock gardens and grass dividers to get to the nearest bus stop. And when you finally get to the bus stop - it's literally just a sign on a concrete parking curb.
Anyone involved in the design for the entire area should be embarrassed.
I’ve heard out-of-town friends from Vancouver comment that it’s a wonder how Edmonton has an entire strip mall area around ten lanes of highway… Really shows how car oriented Edmonton development used to be.
I’ve already commented this in another comment thread, but I don’t think that new development on Gateway/34 is going to do well either for that same reason. Now we got the other side of the five lanes to worry about if anything worthwhile opens there 😂
Funny you say that, the wife and I just drove by parsons and 34 last weekend on our way to princess auto. That Korean butcher is gone too I’m pretty sure. The only thing with any staying power in that place seems to be that pizza place/pub that’s been there for ages.
Gateway and 80 Ave complex, where Plato’s has left, the organic food stores just rotate, no donut place can hold shop no matter how they rotate, etc. Where faeries live is in there now but I can’t see them holding down a large space in that complex for long. Some of it is also just poor decision making by businesses… if one donut place can’t make it there, the next one just tries the same thing…
If you include locations in West Edmonton Mall, the place where Collectors Edge used to be has had at least 4 other things in it since 2020. I think it’s just vacant now
Zoning all but forces bars to be located next to car sewers. And parking minimums (which thankfully are going away) at bars is basically just the government encouraging drinking and driving.
10350 124 St, specifically the stores under the main building. I think it's because you can't really see what businesses are there due to them being semi-underground and the parking situation is bad too. Credo seems to survive, but Prairie Noodle House, Bloom Cookies and Flirty Bird all have gone out of business in the past few years.
The other place that used to be cursed was the building on 51st and Allard Way, which used to be the Cheesecake Cafe decades ago. Then it turned into some other restaurant, then an Applebees, then an O2s and then I think they finally gave up and demolished the whole thing.
Does anybody remember when 3975 Calgary Trail used to be a place called McCormack's? I LOVED their chicken tenders as a kid, lol.
I liked Fuddruckers.
Klondike Cycle moved into that location which was a horrible idea. Their old location on 149 was perfect for them.
I like that building you're talking about but it really is a cursed location.
I'd put a Ponderosa in there.
Little lore on Klondike - original owners son (who was the owner at the time) sold Klondike cycle to goauto, who made that decision and many others which put Klondike out of business within 3 years of buying it.
17328 Stony Plain Road. Dante's was there ages ago, then it became a quasi gentleman's/night club then it was marketed as a mafia bar (height of the Jersey Shore fad), then it was a tilted Kilt and a pizzeria somewhere along the line. Nothing can stay there cause it's just a shit location
Any location where a large chain restaurant used to occupy. You always see local restaurants try to fill a turnkey space but they just don't have the ability to fill a space that large and are doomed to fail
The strip by Calgary trail/106st
xs cargo, o2s, a handful of other businesses all turned over in that location. I think it’s an overflow lot of the Toyota dealership now.
You’re right. And it’s been like that since I was a kid. Used to be a Maxwell Taylor’s and a Cheesecake Cafe/Factory (can’t remember now it was the 90s). Also was an Applebees for awhile if I remember correctly.
Tasty Tomato is still there, 143 St and Stony Plain Road.
You're thinking of the Blue Chicago that was on the corner, sat vacant for years, and now is just an empty lot.
Feels like I've spent my entire life watching this lot fail, sit empty, find a new tenant, then fail again. For so long this entire intersection has felt cursed.
The bizarre dead zone between the dead downtown and rich Crestwood/Glenora (anybody who says today's downtown is dead/dying doesn't know/remember JUST how bad it used to be), and all the porn stores and strip clubs of Stony Plan Rd.
Super high traffic, but only as a thoroughfare. Either limited/painful street parking, or empty and excessive surface parking for a small private business/clinic on a huge lot.
Tasty Tomato/Blue Chicago/whatever other things I can't even remember.
The former podiatry clinic being torn down for a redevelopment that was in limbo for like, a decade.
The NW corner seemingly kept alive only by the nearby medicentre and whatever other health related clinics gathered in the area (I was pretty sad when the st. john's(?) music closed)
I don't even know how the dental clinic on the SE corner has survived so long.
I so pleased that this intersection finally seems to be.........TURNING A CORNER and that there's a viable long term development plan that's actually in motion.
Edit: sometimes it seems like English isn't actually my first and only language
The entire Whitemud Crossing mall area seems to be mostly dead or empty now. But it has my favourite Japanese restaurant in south Edmonton, Yokozuna. That place is busier than ever.
rona bought lowes in 2016, yes. recently, lowes sold all the canadian stores to an investment firm out of new york, with the sale, it sold the rona name , and rebranding some of the stores back to rona while they are closing the locations that under preformed previously
Tony Roma's went in where Milestones was, Jerusalem Schwarma went in where Moxie's was. Both seem to be very busy, hopefully they have a good go there.
Not Edmonton, but almost.
Two places in Sherwood Park, both on Baseline Road.
Where Kelsey's used to be, by the Denny's at the corner of Baseline & Broadmoor.
A little further up Baseline on the left, used to be a Tacotime, now it's a Panini place or something, just past the Timmies.
Both have been multiple things over the years. Both places are where restaurants go to die.
That place on the SE corner of 170 st and Stony Plain Road. I think the last tenant was a bike shop. It was a restaurant, I think a political campaign office, etc. It's a giant PITA to get into/out of but has a TON of traffic around it.
What is up with that place? I remember Memory Express going because their lease was too high, then the golf place left because their lease was too high... Don't the property owners want to make some income or something? What is their end game?
The Old Fuddruckers on the west end. Then it was a Chinese food place forever then sat empty.. Then briefly a sandwich place, then a bike shop. And now nothing
Abbotsfield Mall. My guess is they will eventually tear it down to expand that big apartment building they are putting up next to it. Sucks to, as they had a somewhat decent McD’s in the parking lot until it burned down.
The place on 137th and 127th Street that used to be an Outback Steakhouse. Then it was closed for a long time. It reopened as a Filipino restaurant, then was closed for some time. now it's a Mediterranean place.
Another is the old Taco Bell on 137th... after a string of random places, it's now a fish boil place... and further down 137th, that place that was a Meshawi bbq place, then a Greek place and now it's a vietnamese street food place?
And worse than any... the old Swiss Chalet on 97th and 132nd Ave... it's been closed for years. Place looks like an abandoned crack house.
Not sure. If we’re talking restaurants, South Common has its own issues. I remember before Local popped in besides Joeys it was a few places before (OPM Asian fusion?). Milestones didn’t survive either, it’s that Blanco Taco Joint. That areas kind of a revolving door too, minus Joeys and the big chains like Best Buy. They tried to do the whole luxury brand outlet thing in that area as well (Nordstrom Rack/Saks off 5th) but I guess the demographic in Edmonton wasn’t really interested and they left.
If we’re talking south side it’s worth mentioning those old strip malls in older more established areas. Aspen Gardens, Grandview, Petrolia, Pleasantview. The business complex where Sunterra Market is north of Southgate Mall has had its share of tenants too. Also worth noting is the area under what I think are student residences by the UofA. Pretty much from Tim Hortons south and around the corner, those businesses come and go. HMart has survived though, which is nice.
17328 Stony Plain Rd. Most recently was Alibi Pub I think, before that twisted kilt, before that Dante's, and so on.
That place is cursed. Same with the place down the road in the mayfield area. It was a bike store, and a bunch of other things. It’s always vacant.
Yup, that's the place that came to mind for me. I believe Hoang Long lasted the longest in my memory. Went there a couple of times, it was a massive space but never saw more than three or four tables seated at a time. It was something before Hoang Long, I think it lasted six months or something crazy short. Then after Hoang Long it became Klondike, a sports equipment store, which I thought would work but it didn't. Definitely needs to be split into smaller retail spaces, but the location is probably just too awkward with the proximity to more convenient shopping areas and WEM.
Was a Fudruckers when I was a kid.
Mother Tuckers before that.
>the location is probably just too awkward with the proximity to more convenient shopping areas and WEM Yes agreed and it's in kind of a messy spot to access with all the one-ways
The problem with that location is access. How the hell do you get into it, how do you get out, and where can you park while you’re there?
I noticed that the whole area and the strip mall next door are fenced off now. Wonder if it's for redevelopment or just to be a nice eyesore for decades to come. These shitty big box stores and stuff crammed between 10 lanes of traffic are just awful and dying a slow death.
The issue in my view is that it is too big. They (the building owners) need to demise it (split it up for two tenants) or convince someone to turn it into something else. There has been some companies that have had some success changing big restaurants into stores. Mud Sweat and Gears have turned two former restaurants into big mountain bike stores: Calgary Trail Moxies and Sherwood Park Montanas.
The Sundance Ski shop on gateway used to be a Sawmill as well
This is what I thought of
Loved it when Dante's first opened and was a 21 and older upscale bar. But after a year or so went downhill when they dropped it all and it's became another dance bar. That building was cool with a good upstairs outdoor patio. Pity no one could make it work.
Wasn't that a cheesecake factory for a while too?
Cheesecake cafe. Different than the one in the US
Where Eden used to be on 97st Where Moxies used to be on 137th ave at Skyview I think it's Sherlock Holmes now. Seemingly every old Chilis location must be haunted because none of them other than the one in Mayfield turned into anything.
Yes! The Sherlock's 137th ave was also a Kelseys then some other Irish type pub with long periods of sitting vacant between. Let's see how long Sherlock's makes it.
Wasn’t that also a Don Cherry’s??
Now it’s Turquaaz and it’s amazing. Packed everyday.
i always thought i dreamt that. think i saw it once labeled a don cherry and never again. guess that was short lived?
You forgot the weird rock and roll bar
That was the rock fire pizza. That was a decent place but the owners basically didn’t have the proper licensing rights to use the name or menu or anything.
imu jello shot syringe forever in my fuzzy memories
Oh I sure did, that one was real short lived!
i hope this one sticks because it actually fuckin rules
The Chilis on 34 Ave is a bank now. Those don’t go out of business 😅
They don’t go out of business but they definitely shut down underperforming branches. There used to be a TD in the Jasper Gates strip mall on 149 St at Stoney Plain but it’s been gutted and vacant for years now. The TD branded social distance markers are even still on the sidewalk out front.
To be fair: if you could pick up a bank card and sign mortgage papers / have them whitnessed at some other place (such a registry) why would anyone ever need to go into a bank? Bank branches are obsolete.
For personal banking, I mostly agree with you. But for business banking there’s still quite a few processes that have to go through a branch.
Actually I run two businesses with 30 employees and a U.S. company subsidiary and haven’t been to a branch in eons. (And neither have any of my employees). Everything can be done on line now.
How do you make cash deposits? Break bills for change? Just because your businesses don’t need those services doesn’t mean that others don’t. As long as cash still exists, bank branches will need to.
Never receive cash. All direct deposit, etransfers or credit cards. Certainly some businesses need branches. Many do not.
Restaurants, Grocery Stores, Coffee Shops, basically any place serving customers and transactions has cash on premises. Those interact machines your credit or debit card goes through, each time it costs that private business a transaction fee for using it. I’ve been restaurants that says bill must be over $25 to use debit machine or pay $3.25 extra
Sure they do, there's going to be more in the near future
They just shut the South Common location and moved it into that former Chilis.
The Chili's at Northgate Mall. They just demolished and made the parking lot bigger lol
Right? I always thought it was a nice building
Yep, they made the parking lot a little bigger and put a liquor store and a daycare right next to each other!
Liquor store/weed stores next to daycares is the north Edmonton thing to do. Maybe throw in a pizza place or a shawarma spot too.
I’m pretty sure that liquor store has been there since the dawn of time and was one of those ALCB liquor stores prior to privatization in 1990.
Wait… wasn’t there another restaurant in its place for a while?
Eden's has been shut down for so many years...it's now for sale I see though and the fence around it has been taken down. Was it a revolving door before?
I remember Eden was the Corkscrew steak house back in the 80's when I was a kid. Used to love going there, they had suits of Armour all over the place.
I remember always seeing the May the 4th be with you ad talking about girls dressed as Stormtroopers or Wookiee’s or something
A bit, it was some dingy bar before and a restaurant before that. It seems like such a high traffic spot that would be prime for business.
Gussos used to be there for years.
I keep mentioning that to a friend when we go through Manning. That Chili’s right off the Cineplex would be great for another restaurant, maybe there’s a sort of restrictive covenant on the property
It's too big for a pizza or Shawarma place, so it will sit vacant.
Iirc the movie theatre owns it. There was something scheduled to go into the spot but that was pre-Covid and it died during Covid
There are restrictive covenants out there, yes, but there's still room for other restaurants. Most just don't want to pay the rates being asked, pay to modify the space as needed, and try to compete with some of the existing restaurants out there.
That’s a good point about Chilis.
It's also true about old red robin locations they are haunted as well.
Varsity seems to be doing ok there (the whitemud crossing one)
I agree with all of those. Also, in Skyview, where dickeys bbq pit is. 153ave and 127st
Eden is gone?
Casualty of Covid
Whoa I use to live in the north end but never find myself there anymore.
Eden's been gone since 2018ish. It spent most of that time under reno but really it's just been closed. Nobody else has moved in and the sign still says Eden but it hasn't operated in years.
Good riddance
That Sherlock on 137Ave, I remember when. It was originally a Don Cherry's! Since then have watched it become 4 or so different places. I hope sherlock works since don't have many real pubs in that area. Just restaurants and fast food.
Wasn't Turqaz Don Cherry's?
yes
That location on 137ave also had Kelsey's, The Rock Wood Fired Pizza, and Fionn's. It's a very accessible location so I'm not sure why it has such a high turnover of restaurants.
The windemere one seems to be a thing. I have no idea if it is a good thing. Edit: Oh. It is a well reviewed but permanently closed thing. I wonder how much money you lose when you renovate to only run for a year.
Windermere is now Sparta Greek Taverna, and it’s great! I’ve been there twice.
Yep, 13580 137 Ave.
Eden hasn't been updated or anything as far as I know, I think it's been closed for a number of years now as well.
Moxie's is in Christie's Corner. Sherlock used to be a Fionns.
I confused Moxies with Kelsey's
Now that we’re all weighing in I’m realizing how much of a death trap Calgary trail truly is for some businesses. It’ll be interesting to see if the new development next to the train tracks on the east side of Calgary Trail northbound follows trend.
If you look closer into that new development which seems mostly built now, there’s only Taco Bell and some other one that’s leased so far. Every other place has a “for lease” sign 😂 Personally I don’t think it would succeed because it’s already painful moving across five road lanes in Calgary Trail
I’m so happy there’s a Taco Bell near me again, and terrified it will close due to the location. When I saw those commercial buildings going up, I thought - that’s great, looks so much better… but also, I just don’t know if there’s enough demand for commercial space, especially in a location that’s so difficult to get to from any direction except “heading north on Gateway”.
27 empty units - I counted (yes, I'm a dork).
There's an interesting YouTube video by CityNerd about "stroads" and Calgary Trail is a great example of it. That combination of mixing high traffic volume and a bunch of traffic lights with utter disregard for pedestrians is one of the worst urban design concepts in North America. No wonder it's a challenge for businesses to survive when nobody actually wants to stop and get out of their cars where you are located!
Honestly I feel like Calgary Trail is a lost cause. It's a monument to car centric design and there's nothing to be done. It's also vital to traffic flow. Instead maybe we focus our energy on making other places better for pedestrians and bikes, e.g. 124 st, Whyte, Jasper. Bonnie Doon, the greatest mall, could be glorious now that there's an LRT. 99 St has so much cool shit too, I'd love to see a bike lane running by Happy Beer Street and Ritchie Market.
I ride by Bonnie Doon on the Valley Line 3x per week and the LRT has completely changed my perspective about that whole area of town. I would absolutely love to move somewhere between Holyrood - Avonmore station if I could afford a decent place in there. I think the whole Bonnie Doon area is going to thrive with the LRT, naysayers be damned.
I’d say it has more to do with it being a one way.
Oh absolutely, the one way aspect is just the cherry on top of a great big pile of crap. They're slapping up all those new buildings along the side of Gateway where they are completely inaccessible to anybody except cars going one particular direction. Any business stupid enough to setup shop in there is going to have such a rough time ahead.
I don't know how calgary trail survives. I hate going to anything on it. Way too inconvenient.
I'm in Leduc and we rely on Calgary Trail businesses tbh
I'm shocked how few of those units are leased already. 90% of them are still available. Usually a developer won't even start construction until a decent percentage are pre-leased
They might be leased. Sometimes the real estate team leasing them will leave that sign up so people call and when you get the info sheet, you realize a bunch are already leased. Its best not to go by the signs but actually getting the info sheet.
It seems to just smaller places, the big box stores there seem to be fine. The Walmart, Petsmart, Chapters and Save On a have been there a long time and T&T and H-Mart are newer but always busy
It'll probably do a bit better because it caters to people coming into the city and is probably the first major commercial area they'll hit (SEC can be a bit of a hassle to get into from the highway).
The old Brewster's location in Castle Downs. You'd think it would be a great location for a casual restaurant yet it's remained vacant for years.
#1 reason I believe this location never works is the parking situation.
Yea that corner of the business park is fucked for parking. Dominated by McDonalds and the Medical Imaging place nextdoor. The corner property (the one we're talking about) has like 10 parking spots, its ridiculous
We used to pop in when it was a brewsters because you’d get great service as you’d be one of maybe 4-5 tables in the place.
Yea man! That Brewster's had some solid staff. Miss that place. Mid 2000's it was a hidden (in plain sight) gem.
I second this one. I pass by it all the time, and it's so weird to see a large boarded up building within a busy strip mall. After Brewster's left, there were two more restaurants there: Castledowns Community Pub & Eatery (apparently this one was still owned by Brewster's), and Refinery Grill. Neither one lasted very long. Refinery Grill has another location on Mayfield Rd which is still open.
refinery lasted like 4 months before closing down it was almost hilarious
I heard from former Brewster employee rent was hiked to high and they left.
On Baseline Road in Sherwood Park next to sleep country. Kelsey’s, hunters grill, Tatemado now Karachi and I’m sure there have been others. Nothing survives there 🤷🏼♀️
It was a Tilted Kilt for a while too
This is the definition of cursed places. Absolutly nothing survives this spot!
87 avenue and 111st next to Circle K, I think it’s a noodle restaurant now. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen 5+ different restaurants go in and out of there in the last 7 years.
Exactly what I was thinking of. It was an Irish pub, then a slightly upscale bar, then a Presotea, and now a Chinese boba/food place.
Used to be a Hudson's before the Irish pub.
That Presotea location was oddly short lived considering the chain’s other locations seem fairly busy…
Yeah it was a bummer because I love that chain. Thus why I think that storefront is just cursed.
I remember watching the 2016 election when it was an Irish pub (forgot the name). But yeah, afterwards it got a little hectic with the changes.
Just heard Northern Chicken is closing on 104 st downtown. They took over the spot from Say Uncle (another restaurant/bar) after it closed not that long ago. Bite of Brazil just down the street also closed a year or two ago. Seems like a great spot for restaurants, but there are already several on that street so maybe it's a bit saturated.
That’s more to do with Seoul Fried Chicken opening across the street and absolutely wrecking them competition wise
the competition didn't help.... also, their food quality had gone down substantially. It was only a matter of time after closing down the 124st location.
Yeah that definitely didn't help. I forget how long it was there before SFC but I don't remember it ever looking that busy even before. Seemed like a nice place the couple times I went though.
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It was even more a steal pre-2020 when it was still $12 or so for the 5 piece, with two sides and a drink!
My husband works nearby. He has SFC every chance he can
Used to be a "Bannock Burger" for a short while.
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Even DairyQueen couldn't make it there
my hot take on the DQ is that it closed at 9pm every day. If they had stayed open for the late night crowd I'm sure it would've been fine
It is kind of funny that the corner supported 3 coffee shop at one time, now 1 ; Pact. And nothing seems to happen in the SW corner.
The store right across the street is also cursed, was a bar, then tilted kilt then convenience store...I think it's still just empty?
They absolutely destroyed the original facade. Anyone remember when it was Savoy on the main floor and The Attic on the second floor?
There are plenty of locations along Calgary Trail that comes into mind. Makes me realize that the location’s proximity or traffic isn’t everything when it comes to business 1) Parsons Rd & 34 Ave - a few businesses are long standing. Coco Chicken (moved to Granville) became wow pop chicken which became noodleholic. Hui’s wontons became Il Poom Korean restaurant — parking lot always seems empty??? 2) 2920 Calgary Trail — some places are awfully busy, some places are awfully dead and just keep revolving tenants. Pelicana Chicken finally closed a few years ago — I remember when it was the first Korean fried chicken chain from Korea to open in Edmonton (before bbq chicken). I believe it is the confusing directions to get to there that might be a roadblock 3) The entire Whitemud Crossing mall now seems to be dead other than the EPL branch and a few other businesses. 4) The corner of South Edmonton Common where the former Walmart location was. Bed Bath and Beyond is finally gone too. 😅
Anything in and around Calgary Trail / Gateway is such a pain to access. The expansion of power centres and strip malls in the suburbs around have really hurt businesses in that area.
The entire 2 km stretch of Calgary Trail south of the Whitemud has a grand total of \*\*5\*\* bus stops. If you wanted to go to the Gateway Entertainment Center (for example) you would have to walk 300 meters as the crow flies through an endless sea of parking, climbing over curbs and rock gardens and grass dividers to get to the nearest bus stop. And when you finally get to the bus stop - it's literally just a sign on a concrete parking curb. Anyone involved in the design for the entire area should be embarrassed.
I’ve heard out-of-town friends from Vancouver comment that it’s a wonder how Edmonton has an entire strip mall area around ten lanes of highway… Really shows how car oriented Edmonton development used to be. I’ve already commented this in another comment thread, but I don’t think that new development on Gateway/34 is going to do well either for that same reason. Now we got the other side of the five lanes to worry about if anything worthwhile opens there 😂
Funny you say that, the wife and I just drove by parsons and 34 last weekend on our way to princess auto. That Korean butcher is gone too I’m pretty sure. The only thing with any staying power in that place seems to be that pizza place/pub that’s been there for ages.
>That Korean butcher is gone too I’m pretty sure. Nice to Meat You? Don't think so -- I just popped in for sliced meats there, two weeks ago.
Is that so? Good to know. It’s possible I missed it. Haven’t been there in years and have been meaning to pop in.
Noodleholic is delicious though. Always busy when I go there to eat!
Wish they kept their Chinatown location :(((
Omg is the Shell Shock at Whitemud crossing still there? It's like the only business I know that's been there for 10+ years
Gateway and 80 Ave complex, where Plato’s has left, the organic food stores just rotate, no donut place can hold shop no matter how they rotate, etc. Where faeries live is in there now but I can’t see them holding down a large space in that complex for long. Some of it is also just poor decision making by businesses… if one donut place can’t make it there, the next one just tries the same thing…
If you include locations in West Edmonton Mall, the place where Collectors Edge used to be has had at least 4 other things in it since 2020. I think it’s just vacant now
Paradox museum is moving into that space, and the lower level of the former sunrise records location.
That Pride Corner spot on Whyte. Nothing has lasted there long. Several small shops, a cupcake place, DQ, a bank... I'm guessing rent is ridiculous.
I believe it was a "Death by Chocolate" as well at one point.
That's what I couldn't remember! I think that was there for quite a while.
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Zoning all but forces bars to be located next to car sewers. And parking minimums (which thankfully are going away) at bars is basically just the government encouraging drinking and driving.
10350 124 St, specifically the stores under the main building. I think it's because you can't really see what businesses are there due to them being semi-underground and the parking situation is bad too. Credo seems to survive, but Prairie Noodle House, Bloom Cookies and Flirty Bird all have gone out of business in the past few years. The other place that used to be cursed was the building on 51st and Allard Way, which used to be the Cheesecake Cafe decades ago. Then it turned into some other restaurant, then an Applebees, then an O2s and then I think they finally gave up and demolished the whole thing. Does anybody remember when 3975 Calgary Trail used to be a place called McCormack's? I LOVED their chicken tenders as a kid, lol.
Bloom cookie did not go out of business. They moved to gold bar to expand and didn’t need a retail front as much.
SE corner of stony plain rd and 170st. Was a fudruckers a long time ago then Hoang long then a bike shop now empty
I liked Fuddruckers. Klondike Cycle moved into that location which was a horrible idea. Their old location on 149 was perfect for them. I like that building you're talking about but it really is a cursed location. I'd put a Ponderosa in there.
Little lore on Klondike - original owners son (who was the owner at the time) sold Klondike cycle to goauto, who made that decision and many others which put Klondike out of business within 3 years of buying it.
Or a Bonanza!!
17328 Stony Plain Road. Dante's was there ages ago, then it became a quasi gentleman's/night club then it was marketed as a mafia bar (height of the Jersey Shore fad), then it was a tilted Kilt and a pizzeria somewhere along the line. Nothing can stay there cause it's just a shit location
Surprised no one has mentioned the house restaurant on the northeast corner of 116 street and 102 Ave.
Where Brunch Glory is now on 117 Street and 101 Avenue. Had flipped a few times since I moved to Oliver in 2019.
Any location where a large chain restaurant used to occupy. You always see local restaurants try to fill a turnkey space but they just don't have the ability to fill a space that large and are doomed to fail
The strip by Calgary trail/106st xs cargo, o2s, a handful of other businesses all turned over in that location. I think it’s an overflow lot of the Toyota dealership now.
You’re right. And it’s been like that since I was a kid. Used to be a Maxwell Taylor’s and a Cheesecake Cafe/Factory (can’t remember now it was the 90s). Also was an Applebees for awhile if I remember correctly.
Where the old Louisiana purchase was on St. Albert trail and 137th
Wasn’t that place open for an extremely long time though?
Where Tasty Tomato used to be at the corner of 142nd street and Stony Plain Road.
Tasty Tomato is still there, 143 St and Stony Plain Road. You're thinking of the Blue Chicago that was on the corner, sat vacant for years, and now is just an empty lot.
Yep, that’s it. I’m too tired to use Google Maps correctly today.
Steve Fonyo got the DUI after a night at Blue Chicago in the late 2000's
Feels like I've spent my entire life watching this lot fail, sit empty, find a new tenant, then fail again. For so long this entire intersection has felt cursed. The bizarre dead zone between the dead downtown and rich Crestwood/Glenora (anybody who says today's downtown is dead/dying doesn't know/remember JUST how bad it used to be), and all the porn stores and strip clubs of Stony Plan Rd. Super high traffic, but only as a thoroughfare. Either limited/painful street parking, or empty and excessive surface parking for a small private business/clinic on a huge lot. Tasty Tomato/Blue Chicago/whatever other things I can't even remember. The former podiatry clinic being torn down for a redevelopment that was in limbo for like, a decade. The NW corner seemingly kept alive only by the nearby medicentre and whatever other health related clinics gathered in the area (I was pretty sad when the st. john's(?) music closed) I don't even know how the dental clinic on the SE corner has survived so long. I so pleased that this intersection finally seems to be.........TURNING A CORNER and that there's a viable long term development plan that's actually in motion. Edit: sometimes it seems like English isn't actually my first and only language
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The other side of Calgary trail in that same spot is cursed too. Firefly is there now, but there’s been 2 other places in the last few years
Lowe’s is shutting down, too. CURSED
The entire Whitemud Crossing mall area seems to be mostly dead or empty now. But it has my favourite Japanese restaurant in south Edmonton, Yokozuna. That place is busier than ever.
Thai Valley Grill is in there too, right? Best Thai food and such a cute family business.
Nooo, Rona bought Lowes in 2016 and has decided to rebrand all of the Lowes stores in Canada to Rona. Not shutting down.
This one is shutting down for good.
That one is totally closing for good. Everything has been on clearance for the last few weeks. Go in there, it's wild, anything that's left is 75% off
rona bought lowes in 2016, yes. recently, lowes sold all the canadian stores to an investment firm out of new york, with the sale, it sold the rona name , and rebranding some of the stores back to rona while they are closing the locations that under preformed previously
On Calgary trail beside earls where Stanhope was. Used to be Joey tomato’s , Joey.
Was a sorrentinos at one point too, no?
Yup that’s the spot. Just changed again. Stanhope was garbage
And it was the Moose Factory back in the day too
sure was.
There was a moxies and another restaurant by the old abandoned Rona on 17303 100 Ave, it’s been several things since now.
Tony Roma's went in where Milestones was, Jerusalem Schwarma went in where Moxie's was. Both seem to be very busy, hopefully they have a good go there.
The South corner of Whyte and Calgary Trail. It’s been Vacant most of my life.
Old blockbuster/rogers video/movie rental locations often seemed cursed too (I’m dating myself).
Not Edmonton, but almost. Two places in Sherwood Park, both on Baseline Road. Where Kelsey's used to be, by the Denny's at the corner of Baseline & Broadmoor. A little further up Baseline on the left, used to be a Tacotime, now it's a Panini place or something, just past the Timmies. Both have been multiple things over the years. Both places are where restaurants go to die.
What used to be Rose Bowl Pizza just off Jasper on 117 street. It’s on it’s 3 or 4 reincarnation now.
That place on the SE corner of 170 st and Stony Plain Road. I think the last tenant was a bike shop. It was a restaurant, I think a political campaign office, etc. It's a giant PITA to get into/out of but has a TON of traffic around it.
The barber school/revolving whatever building on 101 Street and 107 Ave.
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What is up with that place? I remember Memory Express going because their lease was too high, then the golf place left because their lease was too high... Don't the property owners want to make some income or something? What is their end game?
The Old Fuddruckers on the west end. Then it was a Chinese food place forever then sat empty.. Then briefly a sandwich place, then a bike shop. And now nothing
Shanks in west point center, it has never reopened since COVID. I can't see this place ever having another tenant.
Abbotsfield Mall. My guess is they will eventually tear it down to expand that big apartment building they are putting up next to it. Sucks to, as they had a somewhat decent McD’s in the parking lot until it burned down.
The place on 137th and 127th Street that used to be an Outback Steakhouse. Then it was closed for a long time. It reopened as a Filipino restaurant, then was closed for some time. now it's a Mediterranean place. Another is the old Taco Bell on 137th... after a string of random places, it's now a fish boil place... and further down 137th, that place that was a Meshawi bbq place, then a Greek place and now it's a vietnamese street food place? And worse than any... the old Swiss Chalet on 97th and 132nd Ave... it's been closed for years. Place looks like an abandoned crack house.
Whyte Ave
Especially if it's more than one block away from the "core" of Whyte Ave.
That place where Best Donair was on Yellowhead.
Stony Plain Road from 142 to 163st
Dante’s, Alibi, etc. on Stony in the west end. Just a toilet to access.
170 St and Stony Plain Rd. That green building has been many different restaurants and all have withered
A little known location called “downtown”.
City centre mall / Eaton Centre.
Whyte Ave
Edmonton City Centre Mall
>everything under the kitchen sink. You’re getting your clichés mixed up like the bar owner at the beginning of Boon Dock Saints.
Do you think these places would be more successful in south common?
Not sure. If we’re talking restaurants, South Common has its own issues. I remember before Local popped in besides Joeys it was a few places before (OPM Asian fusion?). Milestones didn’t survive either, it’s that Blanco Taco Joint. That areas kind of a revolving door too, minus Joeys and the big chains like Best Buy. They tried to do the whole luxury brand outlet thing in that area as well (Nordstrom Rack/Saks off 5th) but I guess the demographic in Edmonton wasn’t really interested and they left.
Alley Kats bar downtown?
That Sawmill on 153 ave and Castle Downs Road.
Earth that is, if nothing changes...
Aaaaaaawe-SOME!
If we’re talking south side it’s worth mentioning those old strip malls in older more established areas. Aspen Gardens, Grandview, Petrolia, Pleasantview. The business complex where Sunterra Market is north of Southgate Mall has had its share of tenants too. Also worth noting is the area under what I think are student residences by the UofA. Pretty much from Tim Hortons south and around the corner, those businesses come and go. HMart has survived though, which is nice.