Honest Ed’s turns 64
Posted July 22, 2012 4:13 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
One of Toronto’s most famous retail landmarks celebrated its birthday on Sunday – but it’s the customers who received gifts at Honest Ed’s.
The Mirvish family has spent 64 years at the corner of Bloor and Bathurst streets and to celebrate, prices were dropped to 1948 levels.
Many items cost just 25 cents.
The store offered a free lunch to the thousands of people who visited the bargain emporium. There were also drinks and all kinds of family entertainment.
The big party got underway at 10 a.m. and will run until 7:30 p.m.
The Toronto institution is already famous for its Thanksgiving and Christmas free turkey giveaways, which were started by the store’s late founder Ed Mirvish.
Mirvish moved to Toronto when he was just nine years old and after the Second World War, he opened up Honest Ed’s.
The discount emporium, painted with slogans like “Don’t just stand there, buy something,” and “Welcome, don’t faint at our low prices, there’s no place to lie down,” went on to become a local landmark.
Mirvish is also responsible for boosting the city’s live theatre scene. He purchased the Royal Alexandra Theatre in 1962, which was slated for demolition and in 1993 he built the Princess of Wales Theatre down the street.
His son David now owns and operates the Royal Alexandra Theatre, the Princess of Wales Theatre, the Canon Theatre and the Panasonic Theatre.
Click here to see the flyer
