A near-decade-old food hall in downtown Toronto has shut its doors. Saks Food Hall by Pusateri’s, which was nestled beneath the massive 170,000-square-foot flagship Saks Fifth Avenue store at the Hudson Bay Queen Street building (Eaton Centre), is officially closed, as first reported by Retail Insider.
The layout for the 24,000-square-foot food market was modelled after a traditional European food hall model, boasting shopping aisles as well as culinary stations throughout the venue. It featured everything from a café offering European-style coffee and pastries, to a sushi bar with chefs preparing fresh rolls and sashimi. The spot also included a cold-pressed juice bar, a champagne bar, a salad bar and a pizzeria serving hot pizza slices made with high-quality ingredients, all surrounded by an impressive display of produce and high-end groceries, including meats, cheeses, specialty bread and gourmet desserts.
The food hall was located in Toronto’s PATH system and like many businesses along the PATH, seems to have been a casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic. The 30-kilometre underground pedestrian walkway connects retail shopping, services and restaurants. Pre-pandemic, those businesses generated about $1.7 billion in annual sales, with about 50,000 people passing through each day. COVID lockdowns substantially discouraged most consumers from eating out though, and likely impacted the sustainability of the Saks Food Hall.
As restrictions were lifted, retailers and restaurants at street-level locations saw some improvements in foot traffic, but retailers in Toronto’s PATH system continued to struggle.
When Pusateri’s food hall reopened in the fall of 2022, new features were added to the venue to attract more customers. Management significantly expanded the assortment of fresh fruits and vegetables, packaged prepared food offerings and pantry selections, including more canned goods, pasta sauces, olive oil, drinks and snacks — but they weren’t enough to sustain the business.
The hall’s closure comes a few months after Pusateri’s closed all locations, except for its flagship store, after filing for bankruptcy protection for its Bayview Village, Little Italy, and Pusateri’s Kitchen Ltd. locations in August. The closures of the Bayview Village and Little Italy locations marked significant shifts for Pusateri’s, which has been a cornerstone of Toronto’s gourmet food scene since the 1960s. Despite the setbacks, Pusateri’s flagship Avenue Road location continues to serve customers.
No word on what will replace the once-popular food hall, but Italian retail Eataly is still moving ahead with its expansion plans — its fourth Toronto location is scheduled to open at the Eaton Centre this fall. The mega centre, dubbed as Toronto’s favourite Italian food destination, is taking over the 200,000-square-foot space that was formerly occupied by Nordstrom’s.
