Fortinos is a Canadian

supermarket A supermarket is a self-service Retail#Types of outlets, shop offering a wide variety of food, Drink, beverages and Household goods, household products, organized into sections. Strictly speaking, a supermarket is larger and has a wider selecti ...

chain that was founded in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Hamilton has a 2021 Canadian census, population of 569,353 (2021), and its Census Metropolitan Area, census metropolitan area, which encompasses ...

. It operates 24 stores across the western

Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area The Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA) is an urban conurbation that is composed of some of the largest cities and metropolitan areas by population in the Canadian province of Ontario. The GTHA consists of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and ...

. It is owned by Loblaw Companies Limited.

History

In 1961, Giovanni (John) Fortino, a steelworker and immigrant from

Cosenza Cosenza (; Languages of Calabria#Northern Calabrian (Cosentian), Cosentian: ''Cusenza'', ) is a city located in Calabria, Italy. The city centre has a population of approximately 70,000, while the urban area counts more than 200,000 inhabitants. ...

Calabria Calabria is a Regions of Italy, region in Southern Italy. It is a peninsula bordered by the region Basilicata to the north, the Ionian Sea to the east, the Strait of Messina to the southwest, which separates it from Sicily, and the Tyrrhenian S ...

, Italy, opened his first Fortinos store in lower

, at King St. E. and Glendale Ave. In 1972, John took on seven partners and opened a second store on Hamilton Mountain. Owing to their growing success, subsequent stores were opened in Hamilton, Burlington and

Brampton Brampton is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario, and the regional seat of the Regional Municipality of Peel. It is part of the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#L ...

. Fortinos is a European-style 'townsquare' shopping concept (which is experienced in new-store layout (i.e. Rexdale and Vaughan)) in which the store is set like a European Street with Bakeshoppe, cheese shoppe, Butchers, Flower Shoppe, etc.; and in some locations allowing the customer to pay in each of those departments. The stores also feature Fortinos Bistro Cafes serving hot Italiano Coffee, baked goods, and fresh- made-to-order wraps and soups. Fortinos slogan is "Your Supermarket with a Heart". Fortinos became a part of Loblaw Companies Limited in 1988, but still without the No Name Brand (yellow packages) products. During the 1990s, Fortinos focused on the

, opening stores in Toronto, North York, Etobicoke, Rexdale, Woodbridge, and Markham. John Fortino died of cancer on May 18, 2011 at the age of 76. In 2012 a memorial to the founder was erected at the Mall Road store in Hamilton.

Locations

24 locations:

References

External links

* 1961 establishments in Ontario Companies based in Hamilton, Ontario Retail companies established in 1961 Supermarkets of Canada Privately held companies of Canada Canadian companies established in 1961 {{canada-retail-company-stub

History

Locations

See also

References

External links