Shake Shack will not be the only new addition to Toronto’s Tenor mall in coming months

The Ballroom Bowl is preparing to open a new 14,000-square-foot bowling alley at the Yonge and Dundas location, while Hard Rock Cafe is getting ready to operate a 9,925-sf venue there as well.

“It’s quite a hive of activity at the moment,” said Steve Michniewicz, managing director of Canadian retail services for BGO, which manages the Tenor.

The Shake Shack opening will kick off the New York-based burger chain’s expansion into Canada.

“Shake Shack is currently under construction,” said Michniewicz. “I’m extremely impressed with the speed with which they are putting together this rather unique tenancy offering.”

The location will be the first of 35 that Shake Shack plans to open across Canada. Shake Shack has partnered with Toronto-based private investment companies Osmington and Harlo Entertainment to develop the chain’s Canadian business.

“I think they have quite the following from a social media and experiential background with their customer base in the States,” said Michniewicz. “And, they know how to create quite a buzz up here. I think their overall menu offering will be quite unique for this location.

“Being, certainly at what we would consider to be a pretty prominent corner, centre ice Canada type of thing, certainly in Toronto, I think it’s an absolutely perfect location for their first location in Canada.”

The Shake Shack outlet will comprise approximately 5,500 sf and is slated to open in early summer. The space is situated right on the corner of Dundas and Yonge and faces the intersection’s crosswalks.

The Ballroom Bowl will take up space in an area that is currently part of the Tenor’s food court. The venue is slated to open in mid-to-late November.

Hard Rock Cafe is returning to the Yonge and Dundas area after leaving premises situated across the street from the Tenor a number of years ago.

“They’re also currently under construction,” said Michniewicz of Hard Rock. “We’re hoping to have them open by, probably, September some time.”

Shake Shack, Hard Rock, and Ballroom Bowl will join such prominent existing tenants as CineplexVIP Cinemas, Spring Sushi, Jack Astor’s, and Little Canada.

Michniewicz said the three newcomers add to a food and entertainment motif that BGO has strived to develop at the Tenor. The company’s staff spent many hard months negotiating deals designed to ensure that the spaces were filled with the right mix of tenants, he added.

It has also been challenging to co-ordinate construction plans in a relatively small building that sits on top of a subway station.

“I think we’ve delivered,” he said.

Pictured: Future site of Shake Shack’s first Canadian location in downtown Toronto.

Photo: Courtesy of BGO

(Connect CRE will hold its inaugural Canada Kick-off Event in Toronto on June 11. This will be Connect’s first commercial real estate industry conference in Canada. Panelists will include Syl Apps, managing director and co-country head for Hines; Lindsay Brand, chief investment officer at Concert Properties; Mark Kenney, CEO of Canadian Apartment Properties REIT; and, Marie-France Benoit, Avison Young’s director of Canadian market intelligence. Come and gain insights from industry leaders on such matters as buyer sentiment amid a lower interest-rate environment, cross-border commercial real estate transaction trends, and investors’ outlook for 2024 and beyond. Register today.)