Notices up at the former Toys "R" Us store in Vancouver's Fairview neighbourhood indicate a new tenant is moving in: Sobeys.
What exactly the Canadian grocery store giant plans for the site at 1154-1174 W Broadway is unclear.
Sobeys owns a variety of brands operating in B.C., including Safeway, FreshCo, and Thrifty Foods. Each of those brands has multiple locations in Metro Vancouver. Sobeys also owns Foodland, Lawtons, and Sobeys grocery stores; none of those are found west of the Rockies.
The notice on the doors indicates commercial construction, demo work, and tenant improvements are coming to the 11,500-square-foot space, including electrical work. The work by the current contractor should last about four weeks, starting May 26, 2025, and will cost more than $100,000.
What exactly is planned for the location is not indicated in the notice.
V.I.A. has reached out to Sobeys for more information but hasn't heard back.
Growing neighbourhood means grocery growth?
The Fairview neighbourhood near the Granville and Broadway intersection doesn't have many grocery stores currently, with a Meinhardt and a No Frills a few blocks away in different directions.
However, the area is expected to see increased densification in the coming years once the Broadway subway project is finished. Many residential towers are planned for the area, according to the city's rezoning page.
At the same time, at least one new grocery store is already planned nearby. City Market, a Loblaws grocery store, will be opening in early 2026 in the new tower at 1477 W Broadway.
Unusual heritage site at stake
It's unclear what the new tenant will mean for the huge Bowmac sign at the former Toys R Us.
The sign was built in 1958 and has become a heritage site in Vancouver as it represents the city's neon era. At one point Vancouver was one of the neon capitals of the world, and the Bowmac sign was the largest freestanding sign in North America (and the tallest structure in Vancouver outside of the downtown core).
Now dwarfed by the city around it and covered by the now-defunct toy store's own sign, it's unclear what is in store for the Bowmac sign. Its heritage status was tied to the lease agreement between the property owner and Toys "R" Us.
Parking lot questions
The future of the parking lot on top of the store isn't clear, either. Currently, it's run as a paid lot by Diamond Parking.
Given the size of the grocery store likely beneath it, the lot could become parking for the store or a paid lot managed in a different manner.
With files from Lindsay William-Ross
