After more than 30 years in business, the variety store located at the corner of Dundas and Wellington streets in downtown London, known for years as Mac’s and then Circle K, has shut its doors for good.
The news was confirmed by Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc., the parent company of Circle K and Mac’s — the brand the downtown location went by until 2017.
In a brief emailed statement, a company spokesperson told 980 CFPL the location was being closed “due to unfavourable operating conditions at this time.”
Further inquiries from 980 CFPL were not returned. A request for comment from Subway, which has a location within the Circle K, was also not returned by publishing time.
Downtown passersby were first alerted to the closure on Wednesday after sheets of plywood were placed over the business’ doors and windows.
According to city property records, the address, 272 Dundas St., has been home to a Mac’s or Circle K since at least 1987.
It’s the latest closure of a big-name retail brand in the core in recent years, several of them taking place at the same intersection.
In June 2018, Rexall closed its downtown London store, located at Dundas and Richmond streets, citing a move to shutter under-performing locations across the county.
A year later, in August 2019, the McDonald’s located kitty-corner to the former Rexall also closed permanently after more than 25 years in business.
This past summer, Starbucks confirmed it had closed its downtown location, also at Dundas and Richmond streets, but only temporarily, and not as a result of COVID-19.
A company spokesperson told CBC London that the store was being closed so employees there could “support and serve customers in nearby busier locations.”
It’s unclear when the location will reopen. 980 CFPL has reached out to Starbucks for comment.
News of Circle K’s closure came the same day that the owners of Plant Matter Bistro, a nearby restaurant along Dundas Street, announced it will close to the public as of Sunday and shift to a delivery format with a new delivery-focused menu.
Owner Glenn Whitehead cited a massive drop in sales and foot traffic due to the coronavirus pandemic and concerns about the impact of the city’s homelessness crisis as reasons for the closure.
Those concerns aren’t new for the downtown.
In Oct. 2019, city staff released the Core Area Action Plan which aimed to revitalize the core. Included in that plan were responses city staff gathered from interviews with people downtown.
Some Londoners noted, according to the report, that theft and vandalism occur regularly, panhandlers are often aggressive and intimidating, public infrastructure is often damaged and that needles, feces, urine and garbage are often present in storefronts.
The report, however, did not provide data attached to the observations provided by those interviewed.
— With files from Jacquelyn LeBel
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