Flagship Loblaws City Market at The Post set to open in early 2024

Flagship Loblaws City Market at The Post in downtown Vancouver set to open in early 2024

Construction progress on Loblaws City Market at The Post, as of December 14, 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Much has already been said about Amazon’s immense presence at the newly built The Post office complex, where there could eventually be as many as 6,000 office employees once the interior spaces are fully furnished.

With 1.1 million sq ft of office space, which is fully leased to Amazon, The Post is the single largest office building in downtown Vancouver.

And contained just below all of that office space, The Post is also the single largest net gain in commercial retail/restaurant space in downtown since 2000, when International Village mall opened. About 185,000 sq ft of retail/restaurant uses are spread out over the first three levels of the heritage podium — the former Canada Post building.

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The largest of the retail businesses in the building will be the flagship Loblaws City Market, spanning more than 45,000 sq ft on the second level.

The produce section alone is about 15,000 sq ft — comparable to the entire store size of the Loblaws City Market at The Ridge on Arbutus Street and the future location above the Millennium Line’s future South Granville subway station entrance on West Broadway.

It will also be larger than the T&T Supermarket and IGA grocery stores in the area.

Moreover, Loblaws City Market is on pace to become the first major retailer to open at The Post.

In an interview and site tour with Daily Hive Urbanized, Dave Sherwood, the franchise owner of this grocery store, says the store has a tentative opening date of February 2, 2024.

loblaws city market the post december 14 2023

Construction progress on Loblaws City Market at The Post, as of December 14, 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Crews are now working on the finishing touches on the store, with construction expected to reach completion by this week.

According to Sherwood, by the first week of the new year, the fully furnished space will be packed with store staff, with their preparations transitioning to staff training ahead of the much-anticipated grand opening. They are now over halfway towards reaching their target of hiring 150 staff.

Sherwood says after operating the Loblaws City Market at Park Royal as the franchisee for seven years, his family decided to sell the mall for the opportunity to pursue the franchise ownership of the new The Post location.

“Everybody has the thing that they’re really good at. Mine is community and making sure customers get value. I grew up in a family that was very community-driven, and so I just learned from my parents when I was young that you only get out of it, what you put into it, so we put our hearts into this. So we’re very excited,” Sherwood told Daily Hive Urbanized.

“As my wife and I are really community-driven, we really believe food brings people together and so you’ll have it at all here.”

Burger with fries for $7

With this grocery store being in a highly urban environment, and with thousands of office workers just upstairs and in the surrounding area, along with major attractions, event venues, and SkyTrain within close proximity, Sherwood is putting a great emphasis on ready-to-go menu options — all freshly prepared and cooked in-house.

The “Canteen” area near the entrance will feature a 20-foot carvery with prime rib, roast chicken, salmon, and dozens of cooked vegetable and salad offerings, with seasonal changes. It will be offering a prime rib meal with two sets of vegetables for $15.

Sherwood is super serious about providing quality cheap food options, notably the menu item of a homemade chicken burger with fries for just $7.

Construction progress on Loblaws City Market at The Post, as of December 14, 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Customers can also expect fried chicken, entire bar areas serving freshly made paninis and pizzas, and 14 pots of soups and curries, with the curry made by Paul Gill of Sutra Foods. Just across from the pizza bar will be the bakery, where you’ll find freshly baked gourmet buns and whole loaves of bread, which can be bought whole or sliced, as well as baked sweets.

A large seating area for in-store dining will be placed next to the Canteen — along the glass wall overlooking The Post’s city block-long retail atrium along the Homer Street side of the building.

“The lunchtime customer can just come right on in, get a quick fantastic meal and sit down and then they’re on the go,” said Sherwood.

Just around the corner, you’ll find the deli, cheeses, commercial bread, seafood, and gourmet sausage areas.

Sherwood says his team has made an effort to include a mix of local vendors, including a large display area of some local Indigenous products.

Construction progress on Loblaws City Market at The Post, as of December 14, 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Free parking for shoppers

In an effort to reduce food waste, this location will offer Loblaws’ “Flashfood” program, which provides greatly discounted prices for safe-to-eat foods that may have a quickly approaching expiry date or produce that may visually seem imperfect, but are “absolutely edible to eat.” Flashfood items can be viewed and purchased through the app, which enables customers to simply pick up the goods upon visiting the store.

With a critical mass of office workers in the area, the store will offer enhanced online shopping and pick-up options through the chain’s PC Express service, including the pick-up option from the parkade.

Sherwood says all Loblaws City Market customers will have access to free parking with purchase. An entire parking level is dedicated to the needs of customers shopping at the grocery store, with access to the parkade located on the Hamilton Street side of the building.

Construction progress on Loblaws City Market at The Post, as of December 14, 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

A new Starbucks

After the attrition of Starbucks locations across the downtown Vancouver peninsula over the last few years, The Post will provide a recovery of one location.

Sherwood shared that he will be opening a Starbucks within The Post’s retail atrium on Homer Street at ground level, near the main entrance into Loblaws City Market. This will be a full-service Starbucks with ample seating, opening the same day as the grocery store.

This is in addition to the retail atrium’s other food and beverage businesses by other operators, including kiosk areas for Deville Coffee and a smoothie bar by Oakberry.

Construction progress on Loblaws City Market at The Post, as of December 14, 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Construction progress on the retail atrium at The Post, as of December 14, 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Construction progress on the retail atrium at The Post, as of December 14, 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Construction progress on the retail atrium at The Post, as of December 14, 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Also situated on the ground level on the other side of the complex will be the Fogo de Chão restaurant — the first Canadian location of the internationally renowned chain of authentic Southern Brazilian steakhouses. It will open in a 7,800 sq ft space in Spring 2024.

Other major anchor businesses at The Post entail a 26,000 sq ft food hall on the Hamilton Street side of the building and a 35,000 sq ft Evolve Strength fitness gym on the third level.

The opening of the first businesses at The Post coincides with the growing presence of Amazon office workers, with the interior spaces of the south office tower expected to be fully furnished with space for over 3,000 Amazon employees by early 2024. Amazon employees began moving into the south tower’s first furnished spaces in September 2023. The company previously indicated the timeline for occupancy in the north tower will be established at a later date.

These businesses are expected to see a boost from both Amazon’s critical mass of employees and the company’s workplace policies, with Amazon requiring office workers to come into the office at least three days per week.

The Post is owned and developed by Quadreal Property Group, which is also in the process of building Oakridge Park — the brand new and expanded Oakridge Centre mall.

Construction progress on Loblaws City Market at The Post, as of December 14, 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

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