I love T&T Supermarkets, the Chinese/Asian grocer that started appearing in the GTA just a few years ago. Their latest store on Cherry St. is a weekly stop for me. Filled with all sorts of asian specialty goods and fantastic prices I think it has been a huge success here as it has been in their home market in Vancouver.

This success was noticed and today Loblaws announced they are buying T&T for $225 million dollars. This gives me mixed feelings. As an investor of Loblaws, I think this can only be good for the company. Expanding into ethnic markets is a sure avenue for growth and buying a chain is definitely the best strategy rather than building their own brand.

However, one of the joys of T&T was that it wasn’t Loblaws. They were the first in the city to introduce those new rolley baskets, they have great fresh food and a sit-down area to eat the prepared foods. They have products offered from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds – most recently I noticed their Korean food offerings being expanded.

Let’s hope Loblaws doesn’t tinker with the formula – and try to increase profitability by sacrificing the uniqueness of this market. If the aisles prominently display President’s Choice Soy Sauce front-and-center on the shelves, it will be time to shop somewhere else.

Last year T&T supermarket opened their location downtown. It’s a bit further from downtown than the location suggests, it’s at the entrance to Cherry Street, off Lakeshore. It’s a fairly large sized T&T, maybe only a bit smaller than their location at Promenade Malls. It’s definitely not as busy as their other locations – you can find parking on the weekends!

As with all T&T’s, it’s clean and well-lit. There’s lots of chinese-specific groceries running from fresh fruits and vegetables to canned and dried goods. There’s a BBQ counter, fresh dim sum, sushi, and prepared dishes available near the front. Recently, I’ve noticed they’ve stocked the shelves with more Japanese and Korean groceries as well – this is a good addition. The butchers inside remain a good choice for getting cuts that are different that the “primes” you get at your local Loblaws.

T&T is always in my regular rotation of places to check out.