T. Kettle Opens PATH Location in Downtown Toronto

Retail industry news delivered directly to you. Subscribe to Retail-Insider.

Speciality Canadian tea retailer T. Kettle has opened a store in Toronto’s PATH, the world’s largest underground shopping centre.

Located in Oxford Properties-owned Royal Bank Plaza, the former David’s Tea location is now home to one of the 42 opened or announced Canadian locations of T. Kettle.

Owned by entrepreneur Doug Putnam, the brand joins his other retail concepts Sunrise Records and entertainment retailer FYE. Retail Insider did a tour of the 2nd Canadian location of FYE when it opened at CF Toronto Eaton Centre in June 2021.

Retail Insider interviewed Putnam in November 2020 where he shared that the new venture would be taking over 45 vacated leases to start the new T. Kettle brand. With provinces having different strategies to re-open and combat the pandemic, stores in locations such as Alberta and Newfoundland saw openings before other stores in the country.

T. Kettle in Royal Bank Plaza – Photo by Dustin Fuhs

David’s Tea closed its Royal Bank Plaza location in July 2020 in addition to 165 other storefronts, leaving more than a thousand employees unemployed. The company elected to only keep 18 stores after the reorganization, which saw a focus on the retailer’s e-commerce business and grocery partnerships.

The brand kept its CF Toronto Eaton Centre location open while closing the two PATH locations (Royal Bank Plaza and First Canadian Place). David’s Tea also shuttered stores throughout the city, including a street level location on Yonge Street at 10 Dundas, The Hudson’s Bay Centre at Yonge & Bloor Streets and on Queen Street West.

Employees that lost their jobs due to the closure of the stores were part of a large pool of unemployed retail workers as the shutdown came during the peak of the pandemic. Some talent were hired by T. Kettle which saw the opportunity to bring on knowledgable and fully-trained staff from the beginning.

T. Kettle in Royal Bank Plaza – Photo by Dustin Fuhs

The Royal Bank Plaza location was seen as a high-impact destination pre-pandemic, with direct access to the TTC and the last building commuters would walk through before Union Station.

Over the course of the pandemic the PATH was subjected to a number of government restrictions, including months with non-essential retail being forced to close and then being restricted further with stores that only had external doors being permitted to open.

For most of the last 18-months, the 1,200+ businesses in the 75+ buildings that connect to make the Guinness World Record’s largest underground shopping complex were excluded from conducting in-store sales.

In addition to having a significant drop in traffic, the concourse has been affected by retail tenants deciding to stay closed indefinitely while others have left completely.

T. Kettle in Royal Bank Plaza – Photo by Dustin Fuhs
T. Kettle in Royal Bank Plaza – Photo by Dustin Fuhs
T. Kettle in Royal Bank Plaza – Photo by Dustin Fuhs

Article Author

Dustin Fuhs
Dustin Fuhs
Dustin Fuhs is the Editor-in-Chief of Retail-Insider.com He is a digital entrepreneur and Retail Specialist with over 20 years experience. He is the founder of Steps to Magic, a travel website that focuses on Disney & Universal theme parks.

More From The Author

adidas Originals Opens Unique ‘The Collection’ Storefront at The Well in...

The experiential retail space will include the brand's 'hype drops' along with elevated assortment of premium collections.

Home Société and MUST Home Decor Expands with Downtown Toronto Storefronts...

Other retailers will join them in a new mixed-use project, as demand for retail grows rapidly in Toronto's transforming downtown core.

RECENT RETAIL INSIDER VIDEOS

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

- Advertisement -

Latest Stories

No posts to display

Follow us

4,265FansLike
6,734FollowersFollow
10,760FollowersFollow

all-time Popular