End of an era: Honest Ed’s holds final turkey giveaway

TORONTO – A decades-old Toronto tradition came to an end Sunday morning as staff and volunteers handed out turkeys at Honest Ed’s for the final time.

Blue Jay and Mississauga native Dalton Pompey, CFL legend “Pinball” Clemons, Mayor John Tory and Police Chief Mark Saunders helped hand out over 1,300 free turkeys and fruitcakes for the 28^th and, apparently, final turkey giveaway at the iconic emporium.

The store, which first opened in 1948, is set to close next December to make way for a condo development.

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READ MORE: Development plan to replace Honest Ed’s called a ‘game-changer’

The store’s flamboyant owner “Honest” Ed Mirvish started the turkey giveaway in 1988 to benefit the city’s less fortunate, and his son David has continued the event.

Tory shed no tears for the store’s imminent demise, but said the giveaway will continue in a different location come 2016.

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“What is going to be here is a fantastic rental apartment complex with a great market and this is what happens in a city that’s growing,” Tory said. “But when people say it’s the last year, it’s the last year here.

“I’m so heartened to hear David Mirvish say they’re going work with people to find another place in the city to do this and that’s what’s really important. We get a great new development and we’re going to get the turkey giveaway continued someplace else.”