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Friday, November 04, 2005Bye Bye Balta In a world of constantly changing retail across Canada and around the world, countless quaint and beloved stores that have been welcoming customers for years and years are closing. They have several groups of generations forming their customer base, because they have had their doors open for so long. These are those intriguing bakeries that are either the one and only or part of a small handful of locations. They include in addition to beautiful bakeries, tempting trattoiras, sensational stores and places that truly make the customer leave with a smile. Much different than those superficial Wal Mart television advertisements with the yellow happy face man running amongst the aisles. Bit by bit though mainly in Canada and the U.S. countless one of a kind family run businesses are taping up their windows and clearing their shelves, due to staggering and sadistically high rents by money hungry landlords. A fine example of this is along Toronto's bustling and well established Bloor West Village running parallel to High Park, Toronto's majestic equivalent of New York City's Central Park. A combination bakery and fine restaurant called "Future Bakery" proudly stated on their sign they were celebrating that they had been serving the Village and Toronto for over 20 years. It had a old world feel with stone floors and walls all cast in a cast of luminescent blue lighting. Serving up exquisite European entrees, deserts on par with Paris and much more served over the counter allowing people to choose as they wished or tableside by friendly folks who really wanted to work there. Despite the fact they were raking in enough money to continue along the doors closed forever, much to the city and community's dissapointment. Using their established format not unlike the countless chains serving pizza in all corners of Canada, Toronto based mega pizza chain conglomerate Pizza Pizza gutted all signs of this gem.  The McDonalds along the Champs Elysses in Paris destroying the lower level of this historic block of Parisian architecture No longer the sweet aromas of sweet creations, lucious lasagna and other European culinary creations. No longer the cool and creative decor. Instead the smell of yet more piles of pizza that smell and look nearly the same in Toronto as it does in Montreal, Saskatoon, Calgary and Vancouver. The standard issue chicken wings, garlic bread and soft drinks. The standard white subway tiled walls, orange stripes and yet another store, a store that's the same. In my city of nearly 150,000 Oakville, Ontario just 30 minutes outside Toronto in our 125+ store mall Oakville Place yet another store can't keep up with the masses of money. The ever expanding flocks who would rather pay less for less in major chains. This beauty of a store called Balta, specialized in the better things in life. Here you could find that perfect pillow with designs on it, a wide selection of wall ornaments, decorations, small furniture among other small objects that add that extra special touch to your home.  Other continents across the globe especially Europe and Asia have the fondest of respect for historic structures and stores. While travelling in Japan last year I toured Byoddin Temple constructed in the year 534. This is the norm in this city outside of Osaka in southern Japan. On our side of the Pacific and Atlantic Canadians and Americans display minimal if not a complete lack of respect. The preservation of buildings of historical significance come second to build the atributes that makes up the sickening sea of suburban nauseum. Across Canada and the USA, farmhouses and countless other pieces of architectural beauty are being torn to shreds. These ever decreasing buildings that were built in the 1800s, early 1900s are being obliterated.What's replacing the marble, hand carved cornice moulding, hand hewn hardwood, intricately laid marble mosaics and houses that truly have a unique style to them? The anwser is multi acre parking lots surrounded by metal and sandblasted big box stores at least one if not several football fields in both length and circumference.These are the Zellers, Wal-Marts, Costcos and other big box stores that are fully uniform whether they are in Toronto, Beijing or Munich where they have no sense of belonging either. Surrounding these are concrete and brick jungles of houses, all stuffed in mere feet from each other. Perhaps a cluster of 400 with perhaps 4 different designs. Often a string of a hundred or so will be identical even on the same street. These have artificial names such as the ones in another Toronto suburb directly beside Oakville; Burlington, Ontario. Here three brick suburban bores are being built. They have barely any trees, no old growth anyways and no sense of style or even any care put into them. Yet to attract buyers huge billboards along the highway call the developments "Lakeshore Woods", "Bronte Woods", and my favourite "Country Club Estates". How about build next to a golf course thus ruining the experience of the golfers there in the process and call the mass of housing "Estates on the Green" as they are doing? Pepsi signs plaster this Shanghai street 
The infamous "Tiananmen Square" McDonalds located mere blocks from the world famous site of the 1989 massacres Teague Neal blogged on 5:22 PM
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Teague Neal |
