The Third Act How a DIY approach has made Toronto condo buildings a better place to age NORC programs can help residents stay social and active. In Ontario, where there is no dedicated funding, volunteers must step forward.
June 15, 2025
6 min read
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By Moira WelshStaff Reporter
It all began with a tea party in Gail McNeil's Etobicoke condo.
In mid-February 2023, McNeil and her daughter served scones, jam and good conversation.
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Moira Welsh is a Toronto Star journalist leading The Third Act project, pushing for changes in the way older adults live. Follow her on Twitter: @moirawelsh.
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Toronto Star
a day ago
- Toronto Star
This mouthwatering $12.79 Vietnamese pork chop special is the best thing I ate in Toronto this week
BeLeaf Vietnamese Cuisine's Monday Pork Chop Rice Special, $12.79. Karon Liu/ Toronto Star Long gone are the days when a university student in the downtown core could get by on $2 hot dogs. Still, there are lunch deals to be had that offer better bang for your buck than the usual fast-food chain route. Every weekday, BeLeaf Vietnamese Cuisine, just outside College Subway station, features a different lunch special priced at $12.79, a rarity for a sit-down restaurant these days. On Mondays, it's the Pork Chop Rice: a generous cut marinated overnight with lemongrass, garlic, and fish sauce before hitting the grill. The result is sweet and salty with a slight acidic finish, tempered by a subtle bittersweet char. The plate comes with steamed rice (perfect for soaking up the pork's juices), a bowl of light vegetable broth, and a crispy vegetable spring roll. 'It's healthy, satisfying, affordable, and comforting — the kind of meal you can enjoy any day without feeling heavy,' says owner Alice Wu. Wu recommends first-timers try the House Special Pho, $15.99, featuring classic slices of rare beef, brisket, beef tendon, tripe, and bouncy beef meatballs. 'The broth takes over 12 hours to make,' she explains. 'It has layers of flavor from beef bones, spices, and herbs.' For students looking for an affordable first-date idea, the dinner combo for two is a great deal. For $43.49, you get your choice of two mains — like pho (vegetarian option available) and chicken rice — plus two drinks and a shareable appetizer such as spring rolls, mango salad, or lemongrass fish cakes. Other weekday lunch specials at $12.79 include chicken with vermicelli on Tuesday, pork vermicelli on Wednesday, chicken rice on Thursday, and mixed vermicelli on Friday. The drink menu also features increasingly popular Southeast Asian-style coconut-and-coffee combos. The iced coconut coffee, $6.99, is a luscious dessert drink made with coconut milk and a shot of espresso — the coconut milk adds a rich, nutty sweetness that elevates it beyond plain cream.
Toronto Star
2 days ago
- Toronto Star
Quebec department store icon Simons opens shop at Yorkdale with ‘something for everyone'
The 185-year-old family company founded in Quebec City opens its second store in GTA in the old Nordstrom location, seeks to expand its reach, CEO Bernard Leblanc says that Torontonians will soon discover that Simons is no ordinary department store. After a string of department store closures, Canadian-owned Simons is setting its sights on becoming Torontonians' retailer of choice for the future, as it unveils its new store at Yorkdale Shopping Centre this Thursday. This two-level, 118,000-square-foot fashion space marks the second Greater Toronto Area location and the third in Ontario for Canada's oldest private, family-owned retailer, with another store set to open at the Eaton Centre this fall. As the 185-year-old company, founded in Quebec City, seeks to expand its reach, CEO Bernard Leblanc says that Torontonians will soon discover that Simons is no ordinary department store. It is a destination, he says, catering to every generation — from teens to seniors — with a thoughtfully curated mix of private-label and international brands. At any given time, around 100 employees are on the floor helping customers discover its offerings at their own pace. 'This is a major milestone for us,' Leblanc said, 'being able to build our proximity to the clientele in Toronto and really bring our brand to life in the city.' The day before its opening, Simons Yorkdale was awash with dazzling merchandise, while staff busily flitted through the bright, airy store making final preparations. On the first floor, women's fashion is complemented by the accessories section, located next to the central escalators, and the home decor collection, Simons Maison, while the second floor is dedicated to menswear. 'Another differentiating factor for Simon is that there's something for everyone,' said Leblanc. 'We have elements that are very much value-driven, everyday, low-price kind of products. You'll find high-fashion items as well.' Simons, which already operates 17 locations from coast to coast, offers roughly 70 per cent high-margin private-label merchandise exclusive to its stores and does not stock low-margin items such as furniture or appliances. While many retailers in recent years, including Hudson's Bay and Claire's, have either shuttered or downsized, the Simons CEO, who has been with the company for 15 years, says his firm is 'fortunate,' with same-store sales projected to rising in the mid-teens year over year. Leblanc says the company currently generates annual revenues of $750 million and expects its two upcoming Toronto stores, which it has invested nearly $100 million in, to contribute roughly 15 per cent growth to overall revenue. 'We've been there for 185 years. But we're also very thoughtful about the fact that history is not a guarantee of the future,' Leblanc said, 'and we have to always be on the tip of our toes ... , on the edge of our seats or on our toes,ready to adapt.' When it comes to expanding its stores, Simons tends to take a more cautious approach than other retailers. Leblanc says the company has spent decades carefully exploring opportunities in Toronto, Canada's largest and most dynamic retail market, and that the openings of the new stores have always been part of a long-term plan. 'It was just a matter of being able to be patient enough to find the perfectly right spot,' Leblanc said, 'and now is the time,' Both of Simons' new Toronto stores will occupy spaces formerly held by Nordstrom, which exited the Canadian market in 2023. Leblanc added that he believes to be successful today, the retailer needs to be strong in the digital world and in the brick-and-mortar realm. Continuing Simons' long-standing tradition of meticulous store design, the Yorkdale store is committed to providing customers with a unique shopping experience, Leblanc said. The store's 'Walk of Frames' features 40 pieces by 24 Canadian and international artists, while digital art installations will create a 'Perennial Ephemera' concept, showcasing the changing seasons and encouraging customers to slow down by incorporating a touch of nature into their urban lives. Leblanc said his favourite part of the Yorkdale store is the huge ceiling mural 'CIEL' in the first-floor atrium, created by French artist Nelio, which evokes the ethereal beauty of clouds at sunset. 'I think there's some really exciting things that Torontonians will get to know,' he says. 'This has really been put together for them and for the people of Toronto.'
Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Toronto's first Simons location marks ‘new chapter' for department store: CEO
TORONTO – Wandering through Simons's newest store a day before it opened on Thursday, Bernard Leblanc had a quiet confidence despite the busyness surrounding him. Across almost every inch of the flagship store at Yorkdale mall in Toronto, staff were scurrying to unwrap and steam the last of the location's merchandise, vacuum carpets and dress mannequins. The seemingly menial tasks belied the enormity of what they were all preparing for: Simons's entry into the venerable Toronto market. That feat has been a long time coming. La Maison Simons is 185 years old but has taken such a methodical expansion outside its home province of Quebec that it only counted 17 stores until now. While it's long wanted to head to Toronto, it somehow detoured through Halifax, Vancouver and even the city's outskirts in nearby Mississauga before forging its way into the heart of Ontario on Thursday. Leblanc, the CEO of Simons, sees the entry as both a 'new chapter' for the company and proof that 'slow and steady wins the race.' 'Ultimately, we have owners that don't think in quarters. We think in generations,' he said of the Simons family. They founded the business in Quebec City in 1840 as a dry goods retailer and charted its evolution into a department store beloved by Canadian fashionistas. Leblanc is the first non-family member to hold the company's top job and so there's a lot riding on the Toronto expansion. The retailer will spend a combined $75 million on the Yorkdale store and another to follow at the Eaton Centre this fall. Leblanc expects them to increase the company's annual sales by 15 per cent to $650 million. In some respects, his milestone is coming at a perfect time. The last eight months saw the fall of Simons' biggest competitor — 355-year-old department store Hudson's Bay — and a rise in consumer support for Canadian goods amid the tariff war. Simons' house brands, including Twik, Icône, Contemporaine and Le 31, make up 70 per cent of its stores' merchandise on average. While Leblanc is thrilled to see the patriotism having an effect on customers, he's not relishing the collapse of his rival, which filed for creditor protection under the weight of mounting debt in March. 'I'm saddened by the fact that such a historical Canadian icon has left the market,' he said of Hudson's Bay. 'As a retailer, we like to have a very buoyant and dynamic retail industry, so having somebody exit is always a little bit of a shock to the industry.' It was also a reminder to Simons that the company has to keep reinventing itself because 'history and heritage is not a guarantee of success,' he said. Simons has not publicly emerged as a bidder for any of the Bay leases or intellectual property. Nor has it 'aggressively pursued specific brands that we didn't have because of exits from different people in the industry,' Leblanc said. 'We do scout the market globally for new upcoming brands and discover brands that people perhaps don't know about,' he said. 'That's more our focus, not so much coming in to be opportunistic, to pick up something that somebody left behind.' But it's something that somebody left behind that helped make his company's Toronto ambitions a reality. Simons was only able to move into Yorkdale and Eaton Centre because U.S. department store Nordstrom decamped from Canada in 2023, saying it had been too hard to make a profit in the market. The massive properties Nordstrom held in some of Toronto's top shopping destinations presented the opportunity Simons had long been looking for. 'We had been in discussions with Yorkdale for some time,' Leblanc said. 'We were here many years ago trying to see what potentially we could put together.' At 118,000 square feet, the new, two-storey Yorkdale location will be the largest space in Simons's Ontario portfolio. It carries many of the same brands shoppers have come to expect from other markets — Herschel, JW Anderson and Lacoste. Monday Mornings The latest local business news and a lookahead to the coming week. Unique to this location is a sprawling, geometric ceiling mural called 'Ciel' from French artist Nelio that gives the store a fresh, airy feel. A 'walk of frames' composed of 40 pieces from 24 artists brings another reason to linger in many of the store's nooks. Leblanc is betting the merchandise and store vibe will keep customers coming back and teach his company valuable lessons it can use as it continues to plot future growth. He named both Toronto and Vancouver as markets that may be able to support even more Simons stores but said for now he's focused on 'taking it all in stride.' 'I'm really excited about making these two stores a success, starting with Yorkdale,' he said. 'And then we'll see where things take us.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 14, 2025.
