US-based Second-hand retail chain Value Village will be opening two storefronts in downtown Toronto this summer, introducing the new urban Value Village Boutique concept to the Canadian market.
Signage is already up for a storefront set to open soon in the Burroughes Building at 639 Queen Street West in Toronto. The building was completed in 1910 and was the flagship location for the F.C. Burroughes Furniture Company Limited and more recently, housed an independent furniture and design company called DesignRepublic. The new soon-to-open Value Village Boutique will feature a broad glass facade in a storefront that for several years has been used as a pop-up space. A CB2 furniture store is located next to the new Value Village Boutique.
A second Value Village will open after construction is finished in the former Brunswick House at 481 Bloor Street West between Spadina and Bathurst Streets in Toronto’s Annex area. Prior to being leased by Value Village, the building housed a Rexall grocery store that opened in the spring of 2017. And before that, the building had been home to a dive bar called The Brunswick which was popular with university students in the area. The building is 145 years old and the main floor spans almost 7,500 square feet.
Value Village applied for the Canadian Trademark for the Value Village Boutique name in July of 2021 in anticipation of a store expansion.
The move to open Value Village stores in downtown Toronto follows the announcement of the closure of a store near the corner of Bloor and Lansdowne Streets in Toronto — the large format standalone store will be demolished for a residential condominium project.
In years past, downtown Toronto has been home to other second-hand retailers such as Goodwill and Salvation Army, and high rents have led to most shuttering. It remains to be seen if pricing in the two new downtown Toronto Value Village stores will be higher than a typical suburban location, given the high lease rates in Toronto’s core. Prices are set in individual stores and a recent increase in prices in some Value Village locations has led to complaints from consumers.
See below for more photos by Dustin Fuhs of the soon-to-open Queen Street Value Village.
