A three-level, 11,000 square foot restaurant has opened at Saks Fifth Avenue’s Canadian flagship. Operated by Oliver & Bonacini, the new Leña drink/dining experience occupies the southeast corner of Saks Queen Street/CF Toronto Eaton Centre, and gives Saks a desirable Yonge Street entrance. 

Leña’s main level includes a street-level 96-seat dining/bar area with an octagonal bar constructed around an original heritage pillar with backlit etched glass, floor-to-ceiling windows and original marble-paneled walls. An 86-seat dining room is located half a flight upstairs, also accessed from an entrance within Saks’ accessories hall. The lower-level features a 70-seat lounge featuring rich leathers, black stone, brass, marble accents and furnishings. The upper level features a 44-seat private dining room. The space was created by DesignAgency with a nod to South American style, while enhancing existing art deco qualities of the former Simpson’s department store’s Richmond-Yonge Street entrance. 

The concept was spearheaded by renowned Chef Anthony Walsh, paying homage to his mother-in-law, Elena. The menu showcases South American cooking with Spanish and Italian influences. “We see the food identity at Leña as an expression of matriarchal ideals at the table – an ode to the excitement and love of that style of cooking that percolates in all of us cooks,” said Mr. Walsh.

Leña’s kitchen is helmed by Executive Chef Julie Marteleira, who’s been with Oliver & Bonacini since 2010, guiding culinary teams at the company’s Jump, Auberge du Pommier and Luma restaurants. 

Breakfast includes a variety of sweet pastries, including Medialunas, Alfajores and Palmitos (all under $5), as well as savoury Sustancia such as Breakfast Empanadas ($17) with poached eggs and chimichurri; Seville Orange Crepes ($14) with ricotta, toasted almonds and vincotto; and Lala’s Tortilla ($6) with Yukon Gold potatoes, Spanish onion and bay leaf. 

Lunch includes items such as the 12 Vegetable Escabeche ($15) with milk mayonnaise, charred and raw vegetables, and tomatillo and coriander dressing; Wellington County Butler’s Steak ($28) with grass-fed beef, fried quail eggs, sherry aïoli, chimichurri and yucca fries; and Argentinian sandwiches, including a Fugazza with fior di latte, tomato and arugula ($17); and a Pan de Miga with ham, provolone and green olive pesto ($16).

Dinner includes Chef Walsh’s take on traditional entrées, such as Pollo Doña Aurora ($27) with organic chicken, laurel, lemon and saffron braise, mushrooms and potato purée; and Ricotta Cannelloni ($22) with nutmeg, green pepper tomato sauce, and Idiazabal cheese; as well as a large selection of shareable small bites including Smoked Jamon Croquetas ($12), Blistered Padrón Peppers ($10), and Salt Cod Fritters ($11).

Leña’s all-day bar features a wine list of Argentinian, Chilean and Spanish varietals; seven taps focusing on local, seasonal, craft brews; and a selection of handcrafted Latin-inspired cocktails including the Torreón ($12), a sangria named after the most popular Temple of Light above Macchu Picchu, made of fresh watermelon juice, ginger beer and Torrontés wine; the Mobranca ($12), a “Muddle-less Mojito” made of Havana Club, lime, tonic and Brancamenta, an Italian digestif known for its minty, woody and nutty flavours; and the Leña ($16), a South American take on the Old-Fashioned.

Leña is open for daily breakfast, lunch, dinner and weekend brunch. For hours of operation or to make a reservation, visit LenaRestaurante.com or call 416.507.3378.

Saks fifth Avenue’s flagship Toronto food experience will continue this fall when Pusateri’s Fine Foods opens a 25,000 square foot Saks Food Hall this fall. The concourse-level space will feature both grocery and dining options. 

Seattle-based fashion brand Tommy Bahama is expanding its base of Canadian stores, including its newest location which opens next week. The company’s new stores will be larger and feature the company’s updated aesthetic, as well as a wider product assortment that will include more womenswear as well as substantially expanded denim offerings. 

The company’s CF Chinook Centre location in Calgary, which opened in June of this year, will act as a prototype for future Tommy Bahama locations, according to Tommy Bahama CEO Doug Wood. The Calgary store, designed by Seattle-based architectural firm MG2, showcases a wider selection of women’s products than are typically carried in Canada’s Tommy Bahama stores, which have also been traditionally smaller than the 3,800 square foot CF Chinook Centre unit. 

On Tuesday, September 6, Tommy Bahama will open a 3,550 square foot store at Toronto’s CF Sherway Gardens, reflecting a ‘Modern Beach House’ design featuring a neutral colour palette emphasizing clean lines and open space, with strong dark metal accents as well as oak wood flooring sourced from a local Ontario vendor, according to Tommy Bahama. The storefront will contrast with bold teak louvered awnings and a teak façade. 

This fall, for the first time, Tommy Bahama’s Canadian stores will see a focus on denim, with the Toronto store launch coinciding with the brand’s launch of its new men’s and women’s denim collections. Denim will feature prominently throughout stores, including focused displays at the new Sherway unit. 

Tommy Bahama entered the Canadian market in 1998 under a master franchise agreement with Toronto-based Jaytex Group. Tommy Bahama retrieved the license in 2013, and now operates locations corporately. The company currently operates 10 Canadian stores, including full-priced, outlet and seasonal locations. Tommy Bahama’s six full-priced Canadian stores include two Toronto locations (Bayview Village and 2488 Yonge Street), Oakville ON (216 Lakeshore Road East) Calgary’s CF Chinook Centre, and two Vancouver stores (Oakridge Shopping Centre and at West Vancouver’s Park Royal). The company also operates three Canadian outlet stores (CrossIron Mills in Calgary, West Edmonton Mall and at Vaughan Mills near Toronto) as well as a seasonal location at Port Carling, Ontario (Muskoka region), which is open each summer for the tourist season. The company also wholesales through a variety of retailers in Canada. 

Moving forward, Mr. Wood said that Tommy Bahama will look to strategically open stores in some of Canada’s top malls, as well as street-front locations where warranted. New Canadian stores will be in the 3,500 square foot range ideally, he said, as opposed to the roughly 2,000 square foot locations that have operated until now. Mr. Wood said that the company may also consider opening more resort stores in Canada, possibly in British Columbia as well as in Ontario’s Niagara region. He also mentioned Quebec as being a possible future market for Tommy Bahama, as the province currently lacks any freestanding stores. 

Unique Winmark Corporation-owned children’s resale concept Once Upon a Child is continuing with its Canadian expansion plans. Last week it opened a store in Brampton, Ontario to huge crowds, and the retail concept will continue to expand nationally through franchisees. 

Once Upon a Child stores buy and sell gently-used children’s apparel, shoes, books, baby equipment, furniture, and various other related items. The recycling concept provides families an affordable way to keep up with fast-growing kids, and the retailer pays cash on the spot for items brought to sell in the store. Stores ensure that all products purchased and sold meet mandatory and voluntary safety standards, and staff members stay up-to-date on current recalled items, immediately pulling all recalled products from shelves and making sure all items purchased are safety-checked to meet current standards.

Brampton franchisee Tim Ryder, who’s 370 Main Street (Unit 122) store opened last week, explained how the store had a line-up at 7:00 am prior to opening — which isn’t unusual for such a store. The retail space was open to receive resale items for about 10 weeks prior to the retail grand opening, and customers had seen some hard-to-find items and wanted to get to them quickly. Mr. Ryder said that the store was jam-packed for several hours with shoppers making large purchases, with the afternoon remaining busy with promotions, entertainment and face painting for children. 

Once Upon a Child is seeking Canadian franchisees for its continued expansion. There are currently 22 territories open in Canada for Once Upon A Child franchisees. The company has signed agreements for various sites, so the company is not soliciting sites from landlords at this time. The company utilizes Aurora Realty Consultants as its Canadian brokerage. 

Minneapolis-based Winmark specializes in developing franchises for retail stores that buy, sell and trade new and used merchandise. It’s the parent company to retail concepts Plato’s Closet, Once Upon A Child, Play It Again Sports, Music Go Round, Style Encore, Wirth Business Credit and Winmark Capital. All focus on different demographics but adhere to the same frugal concept of ‘sell.buy.repeat’. The company’s retail brands have in excess of 1,150 franchised operations in North America with over $1 billion in sales, and it continues to expand rapidly. Winmark first entered the Toronto market in 1993 with the opening of a Play It Again Sports store in Whitby.