Vancouver's first FreshCo grocery store to replace former Toys 'R' Us Broadway | Daily Hive

Vancouver's first FreshCo discount grocery store to replace former Toys 'R' Us on West Broadway

Concept of the new FreshCo grocery store replacing the former Toys 'R' Us space at 1154 West Broadway, Vancouver. (WA Architects/FreshCo)

Sobeys will open its very first discount grocery store under its FreshCo brand in Vancouver at the former Toys ‘R’ Us grocery store on West Broadway.

The national supermarket giant has submitted a new development permit application to retrofit the single-storey retail building at 1154 West Broadway, which was originally constructed for Toys ‘R’ Us during the former toy store giant’s heyday in 1997.

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In Spring 2025, just before the expiration of its long-term lease, Toys ‘R’ Us permanently closed its location, as part of the toy store chain’s continued demise and gradual withdrawal from the overall Metro Vancouver market.

The building will be renovated for FreshCo’s needs and specifications. This store will span about 29,000 sq. ft., including the space previously occupied by Babies ‘R’ Us. The vehicle parking lot on the building’s rooftop will be retained for customer shopping needs.

toys r us 1154-1174 West Broadway Vancouver bowmac sign

Inside the former Toys ‘R’ Us store at 1154-1174 West Broadway, Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan)

Concept of the new FreshCo grocery store replacing the former Toys ‘R’ Us space at 1154 West Broadway, Vancouver. (WA Architects/FreshCo)

Landmark heritage BowMac sign to be retained with new FreshCo layover

Furthermore, the property’s evolution into a grocery store will fully retain the landmark heritage BowMac sign, which was legally protected by the toy store’s tenancy since the 1990s through a Heritage Revitalization Agreement with the City of Vancouver.

The giant “TOYS ‘R’ US” letters on the steel mesh applied over the 80-ft-tall vertical sign will be removed. The existing steel mesh, which hovers above the heritage sign with an air gap over the BowMac text surface, will be retained and painted neon green to match FreshCo’s brand. Then, new “FRESHCO” halo-illuminated letters will be installed with a white background over the neon green steel mesh.

Local design firm WA Architects is working with Sobeys on this unique store project with a heritage public art component.

Existing condition:

Concept of the new FreshCo grocery store replacing the former Toys ‘R’ Us space at 1154 West Broadway, Vancouver. (WA Architects/FreshCo)

Future condition:

Concept of the new FreshCo grocery store replacing the former Toys ‘R’ Us space at 1154 West Broadway, Vancouver. (WA Architects/FreshCo)

The BowMac sign was constructed in 1958 for the property’s previous BowMac car dealership. According to a 1997 staff report by the City of Vancouver, this area of West Broadway was Vancouver’s auto row in the 1950s, and a number of car dealerships had begun to erect an increasingly number of large signs to compete and attract attention.

This neon sign was once the tallest structure outside of downtown Vancouver and briefly held the title of the largest freestanding sign in North America.

Originally erected during a time when neon signs were proliferating throughout Vancouver, when the city was referred to as the “neon capital” of the continent, it became a symbol of controversy — leading to public backlash, new municipal signage policies restricting new neon signs, and the eventual removal of many neon signs beginning in the late 1960s and 1970s.

bowmac sign 1154-1174 West Broadway vancouver 1995

BowMac sign at the BowMac car dealership at 1154-1174 West Broadway, Vancouver, as seen in 1995, before the redevelopment for Toys ‘R’ Us. (Heritage Vancouver Society)

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The heritage BowMac sign at Toys ‘R’ Us at 1154-1174 West Broadway, Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan)

According to the application, FreshCo is expected to be open for business from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.

“The FreshCo store operates as a full-service grocery retailer providing food, household goods, and convenience items to the surrounding community. Services include fresh produce, packaged goods, refrigerated and frozen items, and bakery products. The operation is intended to serve local residents and nearby businesses within the City of Vancouver offering affordable grocery options within walking and driving distance,” reads the application.

As well, this is a transit-oriented site about three blocks east of SkyTrain’s future South Granville Station and three blocks west of the future Oak-VGH Station on the Millennium Line’s Broadway extension, opening in Fall 2027. It is also adjacent to bus stops served by frequent bus routes.

Over the long term, this FreshCo site is suitable for a large-scale, high-density, mixed-use development, in accordance to the City’s Broadway Plan policies.

Concept of the new FreshCo grocery store replacing the former Toys ‘R’ Us space at 1154 West Broadway, Vancouver. (WA Architects/FreshCo)

Currently, FreshCo has 10 locations across the Lower Mainland, including seven regular discount store locations — two in Richmond, and one each in Delta, Maple Ridge, Abbotsford, Mission and Chilliwack — and three specialized CHALO FreshCo locations, which cater more to the South Asian community, with two in Surrey and one in Abbotsford.

Within B.C., Sobeys is most commonly associated with its brands of Safeway, IGA, and Thrifty Foods, with FreshCo being a more recent expansion into this market.

Later in 2026, a 22,000 sq. ft. Loblaws City Market is also expected to open nearby — just three blocks to the west of the former Toys ‘R’ Us location within the newly-built The Stories tower at the northeast corner of the intersection of West Broadway and Granville Street. The tower, the tallest building within the Central Broadway district, is fully integrated with South Granville Station’s entrance, and contains rental housing, office space, and other retail/restaurant space.

As reported by Daily Hive Urbanized earlier this week, the longtime Safeway grocery store on West 4th Avenue in Kitsilano — situated just outside the western boundary of the Broadway Plan area — will close at the end of January 2026. It will be redeveloped into a mid-rise complex up to 10 storeys, with about 400 market rental homes and 60,000 sq. ft. of retail/restaurant space, including a 42,000 sq. ft. new replacement Safeway — more than 50 per cent larger than the existing store.

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Artistic rendering of the Loblaws City Market grocery store at the tower at 1477 West Broadway above SkyTrain’s future South Granville Station. (PCI Developments)

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