Sears closes doors for good

Sometime last week I noticed that the Sears in Brentwood finally closed down for good.  There goes the short cut to and form the roof top parking.

Time will now tell what kind of activity the 3 level space will be used for.  Rumors of T&T Supermarket have been mentioned for at least 1 of the 3 levels.  A grocery store would definitely fill a niche.  I wonder if Kin's Farm Market would make a return to Brentwood.

Koby's Town Produce now open

When Kin's Farm Market closed at Brentwood Mall, the nearest places to get produce were Save-on-Foods, Costco or Buy-Low Foods at Parkcrest Plaza.  As of late June, Koby's Produce Town can be added to list of places to buy produce.  I was able to snap the picture below as they were closing up at 8:30pm.

Koby's Produce Town opening on Rosser Ave

I've recently noticed that a new produce store will be arriving on the scene at the corner of Rosser Ave and Buchanan St.  Koby's Produce Town will go head-to-head with Save-On-Foods and the incoming Whole Foods across the street.  Its arrival is a definite positive for consumers that have been missing the departed Kin's Farm Market.

It appears to be an independent store as a Google search did not turn up any pages other than broken links to the City of Burnaby website with a  "page not found" message.  It is not yet known when it will open.  If anyone knows. please post the opening date in the comments below.

Brentwood bus loop fenced off

Although the Brentwood bus loop closed earlier this year, you could still see people having a rest at the benches there.  That was until  a few days ago when the entire area from Halifax Street along Willingdon to Brentwood Station was fenced off into 1 large site in preparation for the removal of the old bus loop structure and for its excavation.  That site will see Brentwood One and the massive Entertainment Plaza take shape as part of Phase One of the Brentwood Mall Redevelopment.

To the east, the old site of the IHOP and Kin's Market has been torn up and fenced off in preparation for building underground parking and a tunnel system there.

Section previously occupied by IHOP torn down

The section of the Brentwood Mall that housed the IHOP, the cleaners and Kin's Farm Market has been torn down in preparation for Phase One of the Brentwood Mall Redevelopment.  This section is likely where an underground parking area entry/exit will be constructed.

Kin's closes

I no longer have a place to do my daily vegetable shopping.  After 22 years at Brentwood Mall, Kin's Farm Market has shut its doors tonight to make room for the Brentwood Mall Redevelopment.  Unfortunately, there is no place at the mall to relocate to.  I asked the owner today if they plan to reopen in the neighbourhood and he replied that they are looking for space in the area but haven't yet found anything suitable.  I wonder if Brentwood Mall didn't offer space somewhere else on site or if they expected a higher lease rate to drive Kin's out to make room for a larger grocery tenant.

It was a strange feeling to see empty shelves this afternoon as I went in for the last time to pick up strawberries.  The neighbourhood will definitely miss the friendly faces at the store.

New retail space to be built next to old Zellers

According to the minutes of tonight's Burnaby City Council Meeting, in order to accommodate affected businesses during Phase 1 of the Brentwood Mall Redevelopment, a new temporary retail building will be erected at the northwest corner of the mall site.  According to comments by city councillors, the temporary building may be there for as long as ten years as the BMR progresses to Phase 3 over that period.  Once it's usefulness ceases, the building will be replaced by a high-rise tower,

Perhaps we'll see McDonald's and IHOP move into the new building along with Kin's Farm Market.

Kin's Market and Brentwood Cleaners to be moved

Although not yet officially announced, the removal of the mall front from Bank of Montreal (BMO) to IHOP will go further inward than I previously mentioned.  The shops affected are situated within the area between the outer IHOP and inwards up to Kin's Market.  I've heard that the BMO is looking at moving it's branch into the recently vacated space that housed SportMart.  A dentist's office affected by the Brentwood Mall Redevelopment (BMR) might be looking at the empty space next to SportMart which used to house a pet store.

That is a significant amount of mall space that will be removed to accommodate Phase 1 of the BMR which will extend to the corner of Lougheed Hwy and Willingdon Ave.  As exciting as the development is, I  hope that Kin's will remain open somewhere else at the mall as more than half of my produce currently comes from there.

A place to buy organic produce: Kin's Farm Market

Whereas at one time the only place I could buy organic produce was at the Save-On-Foods at Madison and Lougheed, recently I've noticed that Kin' s Farm Market at Brentwood Mall has begun to add organic choices on its shelves. Although not having as much variety of organics as Save-On-Foods, the little produce store is beginning to get more of my shopping attention because it seems to have more "BC" or Canadian produce options than its larger competitor. If Kin's continues to add to its "organic" and "local"selection, I'll be happy to do more of my produce shopping there.