PHOTO GALLERY: Farm Boy’s new one-stop Toronto shop
With the ring of a cowbell, Farm Boy officially opened its newest store in mid-town Toronto on Thursday morning. This location marks the 51st store in Ontario, the 22nd store in the GTA and the first to offer a one-stop shop.
Located at Laird and Wicksteed in the upscale Leaside neighbourhood, the new store, which is upwards of 40,000 square feet, is the banner’s largest in Toronto and features all the hallmarks of the Farm Boy experience with a few new additions as well.
During his opening remarks, president and general manager Shawn Linton introduced the banner’s brand platform: “A Farm Boy Fresh Twist.” It’s more than a campaign, said Linton, it “represents our commitment to transforming grocery shopping into a discovery-filled journey [and] fun fresh market experience each and every day.”
This is brought to life throughout the entire store, with an enhanced range of fresh items, frozen and grocery products, everyday non-food essentials and an international section.
Overall, Farm Boy Leaside lists approximately 8,000 new products, said Josh Drache, Farm Boy’s vice-president of private label and product development, during a media tour of the store. “Products you wouldn’t find at any other Farm Boy.”
This is especially evident in the centre of the store, which Drache said has the largest footprint of any Farm Boy in the company. In addition to coffee, tea, snacks, cereals and condiments, it offers paper products, household cleaners, pet food and alcohol.
“We are, for the first time, really, a complete shop, but it’s in the Farm Boy style—it’s a convenience for those who need it but it’s not the focus, the focus of the store is that fresh food experience, fresh market experience,” he said.
Within this section of the store is a Farm Boy first— a dedicated space called World Market for international food products with flavours from the Carribean, Mexico and Latin America, Korea, and South-East Asia prominently on display. “It’s a well-curated international assortment of products you find in specialty stores. Now we’re the specialty store for it,” said Drache.
Also, a Chef’s Market counter offers freshly prepared salads, ready-to-eat wraps and sandwiches as well ready-to-heat items including glazed salmon, grilled chicken and pot pies. “Very affordable, value-driven products, healthy … absolutely yummy stuff,” said Drache.
Other features of the store include a hot bar and salad bar with a wide variety of quality grab-and-go items including shrimp, chicken and cauliflower bowls, an artisan cheese counter, sustainable seafood department, as well as from-scratch items such as soups and dips.
And, of course, through the main entrance doors, customers are met by a brightly-lit and expansive produce department stocked to the brim with fresh, organic and locally sourced fruits and vegetables.
“The secret sauce that we have, our supply chain is so thin. Our guys are in the market today in Toronto and Ottawa, the product comes into our warehouses and then is shipped out to our stores first thing tomorrow morning—so, from market to stores within 24 hours,” said Drache.
Previously occupied by a Sobeys store, the space was completely gutted—except for the wall-to-wall coolers in the frozen food section—and only took six months to renovate, explained Drache.
“They put a ton of personality into it … but that was the challenge. We all came together as a team and asked, ‘What can we do different about this store and how fast can we do it?’” said Drache.
“I think this will be the blueprint for what we’re going to do in the future … “I hope because it is kind of dynamic and I think it will help differentiate us in the market,” he added.
