T&T Supermarkets Hits the Mall For Newest Store
As mall owners repurpose space for nontraditional uses, real estate operator Cadillac Fairview has teamed up with ethnic grocer T&T Supermarkets on a new grocery store at CF Fairview Mall, in Toronto. Opening in winter 2022, the new supermarket will occupy more than 36,000 square feet of a former Sears department store. That retailer closed all of its locations in Canada a few years ago.
T&T offers a wide variety of Asian specialty products, including fresh produce, meat, seafood, grocery items, and its own signature kitchen and bakery creations. It operates 29 stores across Canada and has been steadily expanding its footprint despite the pandemic. Recent store openings include Vancouver East, South Calgary, Toronto Downtown, and Langley, British Columbia.
"T&T Supermarkets is at the forefront of Asian food innovation – always sourcing new and trendy items, as well as ensuring we stock the traditional favorites that are important to the communities we serve," said Tina Lee, CEO of T&T Supermarkets, which is based in Richmond, British Columbia. "We're excited to become a part of CF Fairview Mall and look forward to bringing new business to the area – our stores are destinations, attracting customers from all over the region."
The addition of a major grocery brand at CF Fairview Mall stems from the 2019 strategic vision of Toronto-based partners Cadillac Fairview and TD Asset Management Inc. to repurpose the center’s department store space, improve pedestrian access to the nearby Don Mills subway station, and introduce new retail brands and food and dining offerings. The new Toronto location for T&T Supermarkets will bring more than 150 jobs to the area.
The grocery store will be located on the ground level of the mall, with its own direct access, as well as access via the mall's new corridor. The new location will also offer customers online ordering for home delivery, and click-and-collect via its website and T&T mobile app.
"T&T is a highly popular, best-in-class grocery brand, and we're delighted to partner with them and open a store location at CF Fairview Mall as the premier food destination for miles around," said Michael Peiser, director, development at Cadillac Fairview. "The addition of T&T Supermarket, with its unique brand positioning, dramatically reflects how CF Fairview supports the needs of this growing and dynamic local community."
Cadillac Fairview is a globally focused owner, operator, investor and developer of real estate across retail, office, residential, industrial and mixed-use asset classes. Wholly owned by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, it manages in excess of CAN $35 billion of assets across the Americas and the United Kingdom, with further expansion planned into Europe and Asia.
T&T Supermarkets was founded in Vancouver in 1993 and was acquired by Loblaw Cos. Ltd. in 2009. Loblaw Cos. operates more than 2,400 stores in Canada, with more than 190,000 full- and part-time employees. The Brampton, Ontario-based company is No. 12 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2021 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America.
