Simons Opens 1st GTA Store [Photos]

Large format Quebec City-based retailer La Maison Simons opened its first Greater Toronto Area (GTA) store this morning. Located at Mississauga’s Square One, the 106,600 square foot store will be one of at least two locations to open in the area before the year 2019.

The store was designed by figure3, which has been involved with several of Simons’ store projects. We’ll be interviewing someone from the firm for an article next week.

The store features the chain’s restaurant concept, called Ève Café. This is the fourth restaurant concept in a Simons store — a food concept called SoupeSoup opened at Simons in Montreal’s CF Galeries d’Anjou in August of 2013, and Ève Cafés opened in August of 2015 at Les Prominades Gatineau‘s Simons near Ottawa, and in October of 2015 within Simons’ new Park Royal location in West Vancouver.

Simons is located in part of the retail space that was formerly occupied by Square One’s Sears location at the mall’s north end. Oxford Properties-owned Square One is seeing an overhaul which includes new retailers as well as a considerable amount of new retail space. A southwest mall expansion, which opened earlier this month, houses several upscale retailers, including a beautiful new Harry Rosen store. Later this summer, a 130,000 square foot Holt Renfrew store will join them.

Dressing rooms. Photo:  engclau  via Instagram — *Dressing rooms. Photo: engclau via Instagram*

Simons’ CEO Peter Simons has confirmed with us that he’ll open a store at Yorkdale Shopping Centre store in 2019. Last year, Peter Simons also told us that he’s very interested in operating a downtown Toronto location, though his search for a large enough retail space was proving challenging. Simons currently operates 11 stores in Canada. Of those, nine are in the province of Quebec, while two are in Western Canada — a West Edmonton Mall location opened in August of 2012, and West Vancouver’s Park Royal store opened mid-October of 2015.

See below for more photos.