Knob Hill Farms
Encyclopedia
Knob Hill Farms was a supermarket chain in the Greater Toronto Area
, Ontario
, Canada
. It was founded by Steve Stavro
, and operated from 1951 to 2001.
from the 1930s to the 1950s. By 1954, Stavro had gone off on his own, managing outdoor markets and grocery stores under the Knob Hill Farms name. By the late 1950s, he was operating at nine sites in Toronto.
with 65,000 square feet (6,000 square-metres) of space just north of Toronto at Woodbine Avenue and Highway 7 in Markham, Ontario
.
In 1971, Knob Hill Farms expanded into Pickering, Ontario
with its second terminal. A third location—the first within Toronto, at Landsowne Avenue and Dundas Street West—followed in 1975. A second Toronto terminal opened in 1977 at Cherry Street and the Gardiner Expressway. The fifth store, billed as the largest food store in North America, opened in 1978 at Dixie Road and the Queen Elizabeth Way in Mississauga, Ontario
. This was the first store in the chain to sell some non-food products and was initially two-storeys. The second storey was later closed to customers and used for storage. A restaurant, drug store, and wine shop all rented space within the building.
In 1981, the company received approval from Durham Regional Council to convert the abandoned Ontario Malleable Iron Company Limited's factory in Oshawa, Ontario
into what was described as the world's largest food store. The building had been used as an iron foundry since 1898, although the company had operated at that site since 1872. The 226,000 square foot (21,000 square-metre) store opened in June 1983. It had spurs for both Canadian Pacific and Canadian National Railway
lines running right to the store. A pharmacy, bakery, dentist's office, video rental store, and a card shop were among the other businesses initially located within the terminal.
The Ontario Municipal Board
and the Ontario government
approved a 12 acres (48,562.3 m²) site in 1982 for the seventh Knob Hill Farms terminal, this one at Weston Road and Highway 401 in the Weston community
of Toronto. The 325,000 square foot (7.45 acres, or 30,200 square-metre) store opened in the fall of 1985.
The company proposed to convert an abandoned Canadian General Electric
plant in Scarborough, Ontario
into a store, but Scarborough City Council voted against the project in 1985 and that decision was upheld by the Ontario Municipal Board in 1987.
In 1988, the Ontario Labor Relations Board found that Knob Hill Farms had acted improperly two years earlier when it fired 14 employees who were trying to organize workers in Oshawa under the United Food and Commercial Workers
union. The Oshawa store became the first in the Knob Hill Farms chain to be unionized.
The same year, construction began on a terminal in Cambridge, Ontario
, the first outside the Greater Toronto Area. Construction was delayed repeatedly, resulting in penalties of about $2.4 million paid to the City of Cambridge. The 31,500 square-metre store finally opened in August 1991. The store began laying off workers less than two months after it opened. In 1999, the company proposed redeveloping the site into a convention centre.
The 10,000 square-metre, two-storey Riverdale food terminal at Carlaw Avenue and Gerrard Street in Toronto opened in 1992 and was the company's ninth location. A wholesale warehouse opened in Scarborough the following year.
In the 90's Knob Hill Farms was easily recognized in local newspapers with their one or two page ads printed in black and blue. Advertised on the air they used the jingle "You know you get your value when you shop, at Knob Hill Farms... The Food Terminal."
was considered the largest supermarket in the Greater Toronto Area for 15 years. The site was an industrial building dating back to the 1930s which was used for the construction and assembly of airplanes. Features around the supermarket included a man-made waterfall with three structures to the northwest side which stopped running after its closing. This was featured at the end of its commercials. The area was about 250 to 300m (800 to 1,000 ft) from south to north and about 50 m (150 ft) from west to east, with an extra 50 m to the northern part featuring parking lots and another 50 m with shipping sectors.
The south side featured several shops, rides and a photo shop near the west exit. A mural by artist John Richmond and a team of assistants depicted a history of food, from Prometheus
stealing fire for cooking to Canadian astronaut Marc Garneau
eating in space. Another mural facing the south side featuring Southern Ontario from downtown Toronto, with a street written as Baloor instead of Bloor Street
and the Don Valley Parkway
, the western suburbs, the Hamilton Mountain
, Niagara Falls
and near Fort Erie
. The supermarket also featured two doorways in the east and the west sides. The walkway featured streetlights that looked liked a promenade or a walkway.
and large Loblaws
stores, and had racked up significant debts. The final store—the Weston site—closed in February 2001.
The Markham site was sold for $11.5 million to Michael-Angelo's Market Place Inc. Loblaw Companies
paid $34.2 million for three properties (Lansdowne & Dundas, Mississauga, and Carlaw & Gerrard). It subsequently purchased the Weston site, redeveloped as a Real Canadian Superstore
, which opened in 2006. The Cambridge site is now occupied by Home Depot and (recently shut down) Sam's Club
. The site in Scarborough became a Wal-Mart Supercentre. The Pickering store is now occupied by DOT Patio and T-Phat Supermarket. The Cherry Street site became a T & T Supermarket
. The Knob Hill Farms building, at 500 Howard Street, in Oshawa, became a discount/liquidation outlet and a flea market for a brief period of time before finally closing its doors and sealing off the property. The Knob Hill Farms logo is prominently visible from the immediate surrounding area.
Greater Toronto Area
The Greater Toronto Area is the largest metropolitan area in Canada, with a 2006 census population of 5.5 million. The Greater Toronto Area is usually defined as the central city of Toronto, along with four regional municipalities surrounding it: Durham, Halton, Peel, and York...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It was founded by Steve Stavro
Steve Stavro
Steve Atanas Stavro, CM , born Manoli Stavroff Sholdas, was a Macedonian Canadian businessman, grocery store magnate, Thoroughbred racehorse owner/breeder, sports team owner, and a noted philanthropist....
, and operated from 1951 to 2001.
Community grocery stores
Stavro's father operated Louis Meat Market in TorontoToronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
from the 1930s to the 1950s. By 1954, Stavro had gone off on his own, managing outdoor markets and grocery stores under the Knob Hill Farms name. By the late 1950s, he was operating at nine sites in Toronto.
Food terminals
In 1963, Stavro changed direction and opened his first "food terminal"—a forerunner of the big-box storeBig-box store
A big-box store is a physically large retail establishment, usually part of a chain. The term sometimes also refers, by extension, to the company that operates the store...
with 65,000 square feet (6,000 square-metres) of space just north of Toronto at Woodbine Avenue and Highway 7 in Markham, Ontario
Markham, Ontario
Markham is a town in the Regional Municipality of York, located within the Greater Toronto Area of Southern Ontario, Canada. The population was 261,573 at the 2006 Canadian census...
.
In 1971, Knob Hill Farms expanded into Pickering, Ontario
Pickering, Ontario
Pickering is a city located in Southern Ontario, Canada immediately east of Toronto in Durham Region. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area, the largest metropolitan area in Canada.- Early Period :...
with its second terminal. A third location—the first within Toronto, at Landsowne Avenue and Dundas Street West—followed in 1975. A second Toronto terminal opened in 1977 at Cherry Street and the Gardiner Expressway. The fifth store, billed as the largest food store in North America, opened in 1978 at Dixie Road and the Queen Elizabeth Way in Mississauga, Ontario
Mississauga, Ontario
Mississauga is a city in Southern Ontario located in the Regional Municipality of Peel, and in the western part of the Greater Toronto Area. With an estimated population of 734,000, it is Canada's sixth-most populous municipality, and has almost doubled in population in each of the last two decades...
. This was the first store in the chain to sell some non-food products and was initially two-storeys. The second storey was later closed to customers and used for storage. A restaurant, drug store, and wine shop all rented space within the building.
In 1981, the company received approval from Durham Regional Council to convert the abandoned Ontario Malleable Iron Company Limited's factory in Oshawa, Ontario
Oshawa, Ontario
Oshawa is a city in Ontario, Canada, on the Lake Ontario shoreline. It lies in Southern Ontario approximately 60 kilometres east of downtown Toronto. It is commonly viewed as the eastern anchor of both the Greater Toronto Area and the Golden Horseshoe. It is now commonly referred to as the most...
into what was described as the world's largest food store. The building had been used as an iron foundry since 1898, although the company had operated at that site since 1872. The 226,000 square foot (21,000 square-metre) store opened in June 1983. It had spurs for both Canadian Pacific and Canadian National Railway
Canadian National Railway
The Canadian National Railway Company is a Canadian Class I railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec. CN's slogan is "North America's Railroad"....
lines running right to the store. A pharmacy, bakery, dentist's office, video rental store, and a card shop were among the other businesses initially located within the terminal.
The Ontario Municipal Board
Ontario Municipal Board
The Ontario Municipal Board is an independent administrative board, operated as an adjudicative tribunal, in the province of Ontario, Canada...
and the Ontario government
Legislative Assembly of Ontario
The Legislative Assembly of Ontario , is the legislature of the Canadian province of Ontario, and is the second largest provincial legislature of Canada...
approved a 12 acres (48,562.3 m²) site in 1982 for the seventh Knob Hill Farms terminal, this one at Weston Road and Highway 401 in the Weston community
Weston, Toronto
Weston is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in the northwest end of the city, within the former boundaries of the old City of York. The neighbourhood generally lies south of Highway 401, east of the Humber River, north of Eglinton Avenue, and west of Jane Street. Weston Road just north of...
of Toronto. The 325,000 square foot (7.45 acres, or 30,200 square-metre) store opened in the fall of 1985.
The company proposed to convert an abandoned Canadian General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
plant in Scarborough, Ontario
Scarborough, Ontario
Scarborough is a dissolved municipality within the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it comprises the eastern part of Toronto. It is bordered on the south by Lake Ontario, on the west by Victoria Park Avenue, on the north by Steeles Avenue East, and on the east by the Rouge River...
into a store, but Scarborough City Council voted against the project in 1985 and that decision was upheld by the Ontario Municipal Board in 1987.
In 1988, the Ontario Labor Relations Board found that Knob Hill Farms had acted improperly two years earlier when it fired 14 employees who were trying to organize workers in Oshawa under the United Food and Commercial Workers
United Food and Commercial Workers
The United Food and Commercial Workers International Union is a labor union representing approximately 1.3 million workers in the United States and Canada in many industries, including agriculture, health care, meatpacking, poultry and food processing, manufacturing, textile, G4S Security, chemical...
union. The Oshawa store became the first in the Knob Hill Farms chain to be unionized.
The same year, construction began on a terminal in Cambridge, Ontario
Cambridge, Ontario
Cambridge is a city located in Southern Ontario at the confluence of the Grand and Speed rivers in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada. It is an amalgamation of the City of Galt, the towns of Preston and Hespeler, and the hamlet of Blair.Galt covers the largest portion of...
, the first outside the Greater Toronto Area. Construction was delayed repeatedly, resulting in penalties of about $2.4 million paid to the City of Cambridge. The 31,500 square-metre store finally opened in August 1991. The store began laying off workers less than two months after it opened. In 1999, the company proposed redeveloping the site into a convention centre.
The 10,000 square-metre, two-storey Riverdale food terminal at Carlaw Avenue and Gerrard Street in Toronto opened in 1992 and was the company's ninth location. A wholesale warehouse opened in Scarborough the following year.
In the 90's Knob Hill Farms was easily recognized in local newspapers with their one or two page ads printed in black and blue. Advertised on the air they used the jingle "You know you get your value when you shop, at Knob Hill Farms... The Food Terminal."
Weston store
The store in Weston, TorontoWeston, Toronto
Weston is a neighbourhood in Toronto, Ontario, Canada in the northwest end of the city, within the former boundaries of the old City of York. The neighbourhood generally lies south of Highway 401, east of the Humber River, north of Eglinton Avenue, and west of Jane Street. Weston Road just north of...
was considered the largest supermarket in the Greater Toronto Area for 15 years. The site was an industrial building dating back to the 1930s which was used for the construction and assembly of airplanes. Features around the supermarket included a man-made waterfall with three structures to the northwest side which stopped running after its closing. This was featured at the end of its commercials. The area was about 250 to 300m (800 to 1,000 ft) from south to north and about 50 m (150 ft) from west to east, with an extra 50 m to the northern part featuring parking lots and another 50 m with shipping sectors.
The south side featured several shops, rides and a photo shop near the west exit. A mural by artist John Richmond and a team of assistants depicted a history of food, from Prometheus
Prometheus
In Greek mythology, Prometheus is a Titan, the son of Iapetus and Themis, and brother to Atlas, Epimetheus and Menoetius. He was a champion of mankind, known for his wily intelligence, who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to mortals...
stealing fire for cooking to Canadian astronaut Marc Garneau
Marc Garneau
Joseph Jean-Pierre Marc Garneau, CC CD FCASI MP is a Canadian retired military officer, former astronaut, engineer and politician.Garneau was the first Canadian in space taking part in three flights aboard NASA Space shuttles...
eating in space. Another mural facing the south side featuring Southern Ontario from downtown Toronto, with a street written as Baloor instead of Bloor Street
Bloor Street
Bloor Street is a major east–west residential and commercial thoroughfare in Toronto, in the Canadian province of Ontario. Bloor Street runs from the Prince Edward Viaduct westward into Mississauga, where it ends at Central Parkway. East of the viaduct, Danforth Avenue continues along the same...
and the Don Valley Parkway
Don Valley Parkway
The Don Valley Parkway is a controlled-access six-lane municipal expressway in Toronto connecting the Gardiner Expressway in downtown Toronto with Ontario Highway 401, the Macdonald–Cartier Freeway. North of Highway 401, it continues as Ontario Highway 404. The parkway runs through...
, the western suburbs, the Hamilton Mountain
Hamilton Mountain
Hamilton Mountain is a federal electoral district in Ontario, Canada, that has been represented in the Canadian House of Commons since 1968. The riding is located in the Hamilton, Ontario region....
, Niagara Falls
Niagara Falls
The Niagara Falls, located on the Niagara River draining Lake Erie into Lake Ontario, is the collective name for the Horseshoe Falls and the adjacent American Falls along with the comparatively small Bridal Veil Falls, which combined form the highest flow rate of any waterfalls in the world and has...
and near Fort Erie
Fort Erie, Ontario
Fort Erie is a town on the Niagara River in the Niagara Region, Ontario, Canada. It is located directly across the river from Buffalo, New York....
. The supermarket also featured two doorways in the east and the west sides. The walkway featured streetlights that looked liked a promenade or a walkway.
Closure
In August 2000, Stavro announced that all stores would close. At the time, the company had about 800 employees at 10 locations. Knob Hill Farms had lost market share to new competitors, including CostcoCostco
Costco Wholesale Corporation is the largest membership warehouse club chain in the United States. it is the third largest retailer in the United States, where it originated, and the ninth largest in the world...
and large Loblaws
Loblaws
Loblaws is a supermarket chain with over 70 stores in Canada, headquartered in Brampton, with stores across Ontario and Quebec. Loblaws is a division of Loblaw Companies Limited, Canada's largest food distributor...
stores, and had racked up significant debts. The final store—the Weston site—closed in February 2001.
The Markham site was sold for $11.5 million to Michael-Angelo's Market Place Inc. Loblaw Companies
Loblaw Companies
Loblaw Companies Limited is the largest food retailer in Canada, with over 1,400 supermarkets operating under a variety of regional banners, including the namesake Loblaws. LCL is headquartered in Brampton, Ontario...
paid $34.2 million for three properties (Lansdowne & Dundas, Mississauga, and Carlaw & Gerrard). It subsequently purchased the Weston site, redeveloped as a Real Canadian Superstore
Real Canadian Superstore
Real Canadian Superstore is a chain of hypermarkets owned by Canadian food retailing giant Loblaw Companies. Its name is often shortened to RCSS or Superstore....
, which opened in 2006. The Cambridge site is now occupied by Home Depot and (recently shut down) Sam's Club
Sam's Club
Sam's Club is a chain of membership-only retail warehouse clubs owned and operated by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., founded in 1983 and named after Wal-Mart founder Sam Walton. , the Sam's Club chain serves more than 47 million U.S. members...
. The site in Scarborough became a Wal-Mart Supercentre. The Pickering store is now occupied by DOT Patio and T-Phat Supermarket. The Cherry Street site became a T & T Supermarket
T & T Supermarket
T & T Supermarket is a Canadian supermarket chain which sells primarily Chinese and Asian foods. The supermarket chain is headquartered in Richmond, British Columbia. In 1993, the first T & T was opened in Burnaby's Metropolis shopping centre in Metro Vancouver.With rapid expansion, T & T is now...
. The Knob Hill Farms building, at 500 Howard Street, in Oshawa, became a discount/liquidation outlet and a flea market for a brief period of time before finally closing its doors and sealing off the property. The Knob Hill Farms logo is prominently visible from the immediate surrounding area.