I’ve been living in the St. Lawrence Market neighbourhood now for four years, and in that time the number of grocery stores has tripled!

Some people have told me that they think the presence of No Frills will actually diminish the overall allure of the SLM area, but I’m of the mindset that this only goes to further prove that the area is booming, and is ripe to take over King West as the downtown ‘hot spot’ within two years…

Yesterday, I walked into the new No Frills on Front Street near Princess, and it was pleasantly surprising experience.

Let me give you a little bit of background, if I may…

I consider myself to be “good with money.”  I don’t mean that  I’m cheap, but rather I’m not in any way wasteful, ,and yet I still enjoy all that life has to offer.

I’m a regular shopper at Winner’s, although once in a while I’ll treat myself to some off-the-rack wares at one of Toronto’s many over-priced clothing jaunts.

And when it comes to food, I have broken it down into a science.

Food is likely the one thing that we purchase every single day of our lives, and thus I feel it’s the easiest to purchasing system to streamline.

Costco serves the needs of your large, infrequent items and household products.  Toilet paper, kleenex, paper towel, bottled water, Dove soap, laundry/dishwasher detergent, frozen chicken, frozen vegetables, frozen fish, bulk meats, cheese, and jumbo sized anything!

No Frills serves the needs of your boxed, bottled, and canned goods that you stock on a regular basis.  Crackers, cereal, soup, sauces, juice, etc.

Metro or Sobey’s serves the needs of your fresh items.  Milk, bread (although I often get both of these at Costco/No Frills), fruit, vegetables, and anything fresh.

In Thomas J. Stanley’s best-selling book, “The Millionaire Mind,” his research shows that over 50% of American millionaires shop in bulk at a price club like Costco or Sam’s.

How can you argue with that?

I go to Costco about once every six weeks to replenish my supplies.  It’s not a time-killing expedition, and it saves me a ton of money.

I go to No Frills about once per month.

I go to Sobey’s 3-4 times per week.

If you were to take an “average” can of soup from Loblaw’s Superstore on Lower Jarvis Street (one of the most expensive grocery stores downtown) that costs $1.79, I’m almost certain that this same can of soup would be $0.99 in many No Frills stores.

Imagine cutting  your grocery bill 50% every year?

Consider groceries to be just one of those essential purchases like gasoline, cell phone, etc.  So imagine paying $0.55/litre for gas for the entire year?  Wouldn’t you go slightly out of your way to do that?

If I could offer a single piece of advice to people who complain that they have no money, it would be this: “Don’t buy your lunch every day.”  A friend of mine works downtown and buys Subway or Quizno’s every day, and takes breaks 1-2 times to buy a large Coca-Cola.  He likely spends $12.00 every day on food and beverage, and over $250 per month.  He works at a job that pays him hourly, and suffice it to say that he is in the demographic of people that never get out of the rental rut, and never get “ahead” in life.

You can buy a case of water or Coca-Cola at Costco and likely save 70% off what you pay for a single bottle in a variety store.

But enough about saving money.  I’ll leave that for the “guru” in Tuesday’s Globe and Mail…

When I moved into the St. Lawrence Market area in early 2007, there was only ONE grocery store in the neighbourhood.  It was the Dominion on Front Street in the base of the old condominium – 80 Front Street.

It served its need, but I felt like it was over-priced and it didn’t have a very good selection of “ready made” items for people like me who might prefer to pickup a roast chicken for dinner one night after getting home at 9PM.

This Dominion store was easily walkable from my condo, but more than 6-8 bags of groceries made for some sore forearms once I treked the 600 meters home.

The Loblaw’s Superstore on Lower Jarvis was much bigger, but this was too far to walk and thus it meant either dragging the car out for a short trip or heading there straight after work, which nobody ever likes doing when home is soooooo much closer!

I also found this Loblaw’s to be absolutely packed, and I hated fighting people for parking spaces so I could go upstairs and over-pay for items in what was supposed to be a “Super Store.”  It sure was super, if you liked 40% mark-ups…

The Rabba’s Fine Foods on Front Street at Sherbourne never really held up as a “grocery store” in my mind.  It’s a great place to buy gum, cigarettes, and bags of chips, but you’re not shopping for cereal and produce there any more often than you did at your childhood corner store that had the same set of hair-curlers on the wall since they opened “Alpha One Milk & Variety” back in 1972.

So up until 2009, I would periodically stop in at grocery stores throughout the city and pick up items to leave in the back seat of my car all day.  The thought of coming home and walking down to Dominion on Front Street (I’m not lazy – it’s just a bit of a trek with arms full of groceries!) didn’t appeal to me in the winter, or summer for that matter.

But alas, Sobey’s soon came to the rescue as they opened a location on Front Street in between Princess and Sherbourne at the end of 2009, or early 2010…I’m not entirely sure.

I was somewhat unfamiliar with the Sobey’s chain.  I had only ever seen them in Waterloo where I used to drive my brother and his fellow car-less friends to get groceries whenever I popped by Wilfred Laurier.  Growing up, it was all Dominion, all the time.

The presence of this Sobey’s changed the way I bought groceries and thus how I ate.  This store is literally a one-minute walk from my door.  It’s funny because sometimes I’ll stop off on my way home after work, wearing a full suit and a topcoat if it’s winter.  And sometimes at 11PM, I’ll throw on baggy jogging pants and runners with the laces pre-tied over the tongue, and I’ll complete the ghetto look with an XL fleece hoody.  People will walk out of my way because I look like ‘trouble.’

This Sobey’s is about 220-yards away, or a 4-iron, for those of you who are already in training for the links (I think we’re shooting for end-April with this weather…).

The prices at Sobey’s are somewhat average, but as I said before, I buy 90% of my goods at Costco and No Frills, and I use Sobey’s for fresh food, ready-made meals when I’m on the go, and odds and ends when I run out.

A few months ago, it was announced that No Frills would be opening a location on Front Street, at Princess, kiddie-corner from Sobey’s.

This is all great news, right?

No more having to drive to Parliament and Gerrard to No Frills!  Don’t forget your quarter for the buggy!

But one of my clients who was looking to purchase a condo in the area asked me if I thought the presence of No Frills, which is a “discount” grocer that usually attracts the lower demographic, would somehow lessen the overall opinion and stature of the neighbourhood as it transitions into “upscale” living.

To be honest, the thought had never crossed my mind.

Would you speculate that the new No Frills was brought in to service the residents of the St. Lawrence Market neighbourhood who shop at Sobey’s or Metro?  Or to attract the people who live in the c0-ops south of Front Street?

I think it’s a simple case of “the more the merrier.”

You can’t really have “too many” grocery stores, and the St. Lawrence Market area has more grocery stores than any other residential pocket downtown.  If you like on King West, where do you buy your food?  You likely drive to the Metro in Liberty Village, but what did you do before that?

Competition is a good thing in any industry, and the new No Frills will surely keep Metro and Sobey’s on their toes!  It won’t necessarily lower prices, but competition will definitely help improve the overall “value” of the stores via pricing, service, selection, hours, cleanliness, and something that every store loves to brag about these days – freshness.

I never really considered purchasing produce from No Frills until I walked into the new location yesterday and it was as if everything was in pristine condition!  You’re accustomed to picking up a head of lettuce and seeing nothing but DIRT, however the produce in this location was of the same quality as Sobey’s or Metro.

There wasn’t a single box out of place on any of the shelves, and the eleven checkout lanes had eleven cashiers, most of whom were just waiting!

This new No Frills location is essentially in mint condition, and Sobey’s and Metro will have to work even harder to keep their clientele.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again now: the St. Lawrence Market neighbourhood is the best residential area in the downtown core.  There’s a giant new ScotiaBank opening up on King Street in the base of East Lofts, and the area continues to boom with commerce.

It’s times like this that I wish I owned more real estate in the area….but I digress…