Towers, operating as Bonimart in Quebec, was a Canadian discount department store chain owned by the Oshawa Group, a now-defunct grocery retailer and distributor.
Towers Marts began as a New York-based chain; the first Canadian store was opened in 1960 in Toronto (at the corner of Lawrence Ave. East and Midland Ave.) After the chain went bankrupt in 1963, a group of Towers concessionaires, incorporated as Allied Towers Merchants Ltd., purchased the 13 Canadian stores and began operating as a Canada-only chain.
In Quebec, the chain traded as Towers in the 1960s but the name was changed to Bonimart in 1970.
Each selling department within a Towers store was operated as a licensed concession. Some Towers/Bonimart stores offered services such as restaurants (Red Grille), photo labs, and pharmacies within the store. Some stores were also paired with an IGA or Food City grocery store.
In 1990, Towers/Bonimart's 51 stores were purchased by Zellers for $181.5 million and converted to the Zellers name or closed. The demise of the Towers and Bonimart did not affect all the stores of the chain at the same time. Some stores were closed/converted immediately after the acquisition by Zellers, while many others folded throughout 1991. The last stores disappeared in the fall of 1991.
"At Towers everything connects - the last day of one sale is the first of the next"."Extra Special For Your Family--Towers.""You made us part of your family at Towers.""Towers. Your family's extra special store."Towers' mascot was an animated squirrel named Sparky. At the time of the Zellers buyout, print ads featured Sparky arm-in-arm with Zellers' bear mascot, Zeddy.
Galleria Shopping Centre, 1245 Dupont St., Toronto, Ontario (opened in 1972, became a Zellers in 1990, closed June 2012. It became Planet Fitness in December 2014)9097 Commercial Street, New Minas, Nova Scotia. Became Zellers for a short time, then Walmart built a new store at this location in 2000.450 Bayfield Street, Barrie, Ontario2700 Lawrence Ave E, Scarborough, ON (First location -- converted to Money Mart, Easy Home, a dental office, Pizza Pizza and Price Chopper, currently FreshCo)Bedford Place Mall, 1658 Bedford Highway, Bedford, Nova Scotia (opened in 1977, became the Bay in 1991, closed on December 24,1995. Zellers opened in 1996 and closed on March 13, 2013. Became a Target on September 17, 2013 and closed on April 12, 2015)505 Highway 118, Bracebridge, Ontario400 Queen Street West, Brampton, Ontario, later moved to Kingspoint Plaza (Main St.(Hwy 10) & English), became a Zellers, currently divided into retail space.410 Fairview Drive, Brantford, OntarioBridgewater Mall, 441 LaHave Street, Bridgewater, Nova Scotia124 Plains Road W, Burlington, OntarioCharlottetown Mall, 670 University Avenue, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (opened in 1974; became a Zellers in 1991, then a Target in 2013)15 boulevard Saint-Jean-Baptiste, Chateauguay, Quebec900 Cole Harbour Road, Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia (Zellers, closed June 2012; became a Walmart)55 Old Mountain Road, Collingwood, Ontario (became a Zellers, closed 2013)5000 boulevard Taschereau, Greenfield Park, Quebec1205 Cyrville Road, Ottawa, Ontario (became a Zellers, now a CANEX and Canadian Forces-related office)300 Eagleson Road, Kanata, Ontario (became a Zellers, as of September 17, 2013, became a Target)700 Strasburg Road, Kitchener, Ontario (became a Zellers, then demolished to make a Shoppers Drug Mart)Place-Desormeaux, 2877 chemin de Chambly, Longueuil, Quebec (became a Super C)1980 Baseline Road, Nepean, Ontario (became a Zellers, the parent mall was later demolished and redeveloped)1899 Algonquin Avenue, North Bay, Ontario2700 boulevard Laurier, Quebec City, Quebec (became a Zellers; on October 18, 2013, became a Target)366 Bunting Road, St. Catharines, Ontario400 boulevard du Séminaire Nord, Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Quebec (Bonimart, now an IGA Extra)Bridlewood Mall, 2900 Warden Ave, Scarborough, Ontario (Now mall space + Shoppers Drug Mart)Promenades de Sorel, 450 boulevard Poliquin, Sorel-Tracy, Quebec (became a Zellers; as of October 18, 2012, became a Walmart )Jane Finch Mall, 1911 Finch Avenue West, Toronto, OntarioWestside Mall, 2400 Eglinton Avenue West, Toronto, Ontario70 Bridgeport Road, Waterloo, Ontario (Towers Plaza) (became a Zellers; now a Walmart)1-1111 Davis Dr, Newmarket, Ontario (now a Walmart)645 Dundas St, Woodstock, Ontario (now a Foodland)3100 Dixie Rd, Mississauga, Ontario (Now Talize and Wow! What a Deal)Westwood Mall, 7205 Goreway Dr, Mississauga, OntarioMail Saint-Rock, St-Joseph Street, Quebec City (became a Zellers) closed in the 1990sPrince Edward Square Mall, 120 Prince Edward St., Saint John, NB (became a Zellers, now a call centre)540 Dundas St W, Belleville, Ontario (now hosts a call centre)6767 Morrison St, Niagara Falls, Ontario, (now an LA Fitness)449 Carlaw Ave, Riverdale Shopping Centre, Toronto, Ontario (lower floor, upper floor was Food City; now a No Frills)
