The Whole Foods Market that once anchored the Hullmark Centre near Yonge and Sheppard in North York has permanently closed, and a No Frills discount grocery store is set to take over the space on Sept. 17, according to CTV News.
The high-end supermarket shut its doors on Aug. 22, 2025, along with a sister location in Leaside. The closures came as part of what a company statement described as a routine evaluation of store performance, with Whole Foods saying at the time that “like any retail business, we regularly evaluate each of our stores and make decisions to position the company for long-term success.”
Staff Given Little Notice
According to CTV News, an employee at the Sheppard location said staff were informed only a week ahead of the closure that the store would be shutting down. The same source said workers were told the decision had nothing to do with the ongoing trade war between Canada and the United States, nor with Amazon’s ownership of Whole Foods, but was instead tied to how well individual stores were performing.
A Crowded Grocery Corner
The Yonge and Sheppard intersection is already home to a dense cluster of grocery competitors, including Food Basics, Longo’s, Galleria Supermarket and Rabba Fine Food, making it one of the more saturated grocery corners in the city. A T&T supermarket is also expected to open nearby at Empress Walk in the coming months, adding even more competition to the area.
Into that space steps No Frills, Loblaw’s discount banner, which will occupy the full 45,000-square-foot footprint at 4771 Yonge St. that Whole Foods once filled. In an email to CTV News, a Loblaw representative said the new store will carry produce, hot prepared meals, in-store baked goods, and what the company called “an expanded multicultural assortment that reflects the surrounding community.”
Shift Toward Value Shopping
The representative framed the move as part of a broader goal to meet shoppers where their budgets are. “Ultimately, our goal is to provide local customers with a convenient, welcoming and value-driven grocery experience,” the statement read, signaling a shift from the premium positioning Whole Foods had carved out in the neighbourhood toward a discount-oriented model better suited, apparently, to current shopping habits.
For the North York community that had grown used to Whole Foods’ organic and specialty offerings, the changeover marks a notable shift in the retail character of the Hullmark Centre, one of several conversions reshaping how Canadians shop for groceries amid cost-of-living pressures. No details were given in the available reporting about what will happen to the displaced Whole Foods staff, nor about the fate of the Leaside location that closed the same day.
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