Longstanding Kerrisdale grocery store torn down to make way for condo development

A longstanding fixture in Kerrisdale, Magee Grocery store was torn down on Monday.

A visual landmark at the corner of West Boulevard and 49th Avenue since 1944, Magee Grocery, recognizable by its neon-coloured apple-shaped sign, was in its heyday a reliable, community-minded independent grocer, selling all manner of products and home to an on-site butcher.

Although the old-school butchery, Quality Meats, continued to operate as usual from a counter at the back for the store, business overall dwindled in recent years. According to the Globe and Mail in 2014, the owner-operator of the grocery mysteriously abandoned the outpost one day, leaving all the products on the shelves and in the freezers behind.

After an unsuccessful mission of trying to find new tenants, the building’s owners cashed-in on an offer, and sold the old retail building to new owners who had plans to redevelop.

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In a neighbourhood that has become increasingly susceptible to change, this particular stretch of West Boulevard couldn’t escape the clutch of Vancouver’s rapid development any longer, with Cressey Development Group purchasing the old building for a future condo development.

Plans have been released online of a four-storey mix-use development, containing both residential and retail spaces.

Local Kerrisdale residents and people who were familiar with the grocery store took to Facebook to voice their comments and concerns. One commenter wrote, “So sad to see the history of Kerrisdale slowly going,” while another wrote, “I’m so glad I drove by and saw it a few weeks ago! Thinking of the big apple sign.”