Honest Ed’s up for sale

TORONTO – Honest Ed’s, the iconic Toronto discount store, is up for sale.

Russell Lazar, general manager at Honest Ed’s, tells Global News the location is currently on the shopping block.

“I’ve known about it for, not that long, some weeks myself,” said Lazar. “While this impending sale, it’s not sold, no pen has been put to paper yet, so we don’t know how long but we have no doubt Honest Ed’s is going to operate under David Mirvish for years to come.”

Sources tell the National Post the landmark and the surrounding land owned by the Mirvish family is being sold to the highest bidder for what could be close to $100-million.

The Bloor Street West and Bathurst Street location first opened its doors in 1948 by Ed Mirvish, who ran the business until his death in 2007.

Lazar has been an employee at store for 55 years and believes David Mirvish will do what is right for the neighbourhood.

“I know David is a very passionate about this area and his family legacy is in this area. As I say even if there is a sale I have no doubt… Honest Ed’s will operate under Mirvish,” he said.

Downtown city councillor Adam Vaughan says the city is in the process of studying the intersection of Bathurst Street and Bloor Street to determine how best to improve the area for future generations.

“Honest Ed’s has been threatened ever since Wal-Mart announced its arrival on Bathurst Street, I don’t think this is a great surprise,” said Vaughan. “So we’ve got to figure it out and there’s lots of things to consider.”

The son of the late theatre mogul, David Mirvish, recently teamed up with world-renowned architect Frank Gehry last year to transform a stretch of King Street West with plans to build three new residential towers.

That new project meant the famed Princess of Wales Theatre at 300 King Street West will be demolished.

“It is a beautiful facility of which I am very proud, but it happens to be situated in the middle of the new project’s path,” said Mirvish about the project on October 1, 2012.