Cloverdale Mall was built in 1956 and is undergoing major redevelopment with condos and stores.
By DAVE KOSONIC
Many South Etobicoke boomers will likely have fond memories of the Cloverdale Mall from back in the 1950s and ‘60s, including looking at miniature pet turtles for sale at Kresge’s to ordering a burger and fries at a Kingburger food stand in the courtyard.
This iconic mall that dates back to November 1956 is undergoing big changes, but one original business remains in existence and that is the Taylor Somers exclusive menswear shop. That includes the original location with several renovations over the years. Also not forgotten is the old-style Cloverdale Restaurant owned and operated by a man known as Jimmy. The menu included dishes ranging from apple pie to a roast beef dinner with all the trimmings. Line ups of waiting customers were common there.
There is also the unsolved Cloverdale Mall bank mystery from years ago. Many businesses regularly slipped deposits into an after-hours deposit box at the front of a bank located at the south end of the mall across from Winners. One morning when some bank staff members opened this deposit box to clear the bags it was empty. Despite a thorough investigation that included both police and bank officials the mystery was never solved and the hefty deposits were gone. This resulted in a confusion between the bank and affected businesses about how to make the situation right for those who lost their money.
During the 60s there was a lower-level bowling alley and pool hall at the C Mall, as it was sometimes referred to. There were no automatic pin-setters at the time and pin boys at the far end of the alleys cleared the fallen pins and then re-positioned them so a bowler could roll another ball down the alley during a five or 10 pin game.
In the pool room some billiard sharks really knew how to clear the tables with fancy shots that included two-bankers. At times it was almost like a scene from the movie called The Hustler as Paul Newman used his chalk tipped cue while playing against Jackie Gleason, known as Minnesota Fats.
Cloverdale was designed as an outdoor plaza originally with two open-air sections separated by a courtyard. The property was originally farmland owned by the Eaton family. But when nearby Sherway Gardens opened in 1971 business at Cloverdale started to decrease so the owners decided to make an investment and enclose the facilities and make additions over the years.
The two big stores at Cloverdale were the Dominion Store and Morgan’s, which was later sold to the Hudson’s Bay Company. Then discounter retailer Zellers stayed for a few years. Target moved in and lost it’s shirt and closed. Other stores back in the day included United Cigar Store, LCBO, Tip Top Tailors, Calderone Shoes, The Hot Oven and Wilf and Mary Sayers record shop that sold the pop 45-records of the day that included Elvis of course.
The Cloverdale Mall is a landmark and large part of Etobicoke’s history dating back 64 years.
