The upscale Pusateri’s grocery store in Toronto’s Yorkville neighbourhood will be closing at the end of March after more than 20 years in operation. The store opened to much fanfare in October of 2003 with valet parking, private chefs and marble-clad interior.
Pusateri’s said that it made the decision to not renew the lease on the retail space at 57 Yorkville Avenue. The corner retail space, fronting Yorkville Avenue and Bay Street, spans about 5,500 square feet — a smaller concept than the chain’s other three locations in Toronto.
It’s not yet known what will replace Pusateri’s at the prominent corner. Given the size of the space and the fact that it has kitchen facilities, a restaurant could be a good guess.
Pusateri’s opened its Yorkville location to much fanfare, with an article in the Globe & Mail on October 3, 2003, describing the glamorous store. That included Pusateri’s having valet parking on Bay Street, as well as staff in the store serving fresh pasta or sushi. A chef in the store was on hand to cook a steak that a customer may have just bought, and a juice bar was built around an orange tree.
The relatively small store had a whopping 120 staff at the time of opening. The service-heavy store was intended to serve the growing and affluent Yorkville area, which was seeing new high-density residential development including an upscale rental apartment building directly above the new Pusateri’s.
The store’s interior was far more upscale than other Toronto grocers, featuring glass, steel and polished marble. The store’s decor ranged “from ultramodern to Baroque to art-deco luxury liner,” according to the store’s president Frank Luchetta in the 2003 Globe & Mail article.
Shoppers at the store could bring home one of more than 40 cooks on staff in the store to prepare food — hiring a cook for a dinner of eight cost $200 at the time, not including the cost of food items.
In 2003, Pusateri’s paid the City of Toronto $75,000 to create a valet parking area on Bay Street, which involved cutting out part of the sidewalk to park cars. In 2013, new counsellor Kristyn Wong-Tam made the decision to widen the sidewalks, thus eliminating the valet parking.
Pusateri’s has been a key shopping destination for many in the neighbourhood, and its cafe area is also a gathering place where some locals sit and chat. Retail Insider spoke with several locals who were upset with news of the store’s closure.
Pusateri’s is one of several grocery stores operating in the Bloor-Yorkville area. Others include a Loblaw City Market at Manulife Centre, Longo’s at the former Hudson’s Bay Centre at Bloor Street East and Park Road, and a Whole Foods store at Yorkville Village, which opened a year before Pusateri’s in 2002. Eataly at the Manulife Centre also has a range of grocery items, and three 24-hour Rabba grocery markets can be found within an easy walking distance.
The neighbourhood saw another upscale grocery store close in late 2021 when McEwan, operated by celebrity chef Mark McEwan, shut amid his company’s bankruptcy. It was located in the basement of the 1 Bloor Street East tower podium, and soon will be replaced with The Ballroom bowling concept.
Pusateri’s continues to operate its flagship store on Avenue Road near Lawrence Avenue in Toronto, as well as a store at the Bayview Village shopping centre. It also operates the ‘Saks Food Hall’ currently located on the lower level of the Saks Fifth Avenue store in downtown Toronto, contained within the Hudson’s Bay flagship store building. Last year, Pusateri’s closed its Saks Food Hall at CF Sherway Gardens. This spring, Pusateri’s is opening a new store near Toronto’s Little Italy at 899 College Street.
