The new Silver Snail had it’s grand opening at it’s new location today. I was lucky enough to have time to stop by during my lunch hour to check it out. The new location is at 329 Yonge Street. I have posted some pictures below.
Silver Snail Toronto Grand Opening @ Yonge & Dundas
Store looks great, can’t wait to pay a visit. What will they call their coffee shop?
A comic shop with a burger joint downstairs?
I on board with that one 😉
I’d get so fat working above a 5 Guys…
I’ll reserve judgement on the interior until I’ve seen it in person, but the exterior looks terrible…if not invisible. The Queen St. store at least had a colourful display and made people take a look as they walk by; I don’t see that happening this time.
Excellent point about the eye-catching displays at the Queen street store. The average person walking on the street might go into the store if the display catches his/her attention. The Snail loses that opportunity at the new location. Young and Dundas is a very busy place full of tourists but I am not exactly sure that they will look up and see the store sign or, if they do, are curious enough to go up and browse.
But because the foot traffic is so much greater at Yonge Dundas even if a smaller percentage of people stop as they walk by the Snail would most likely see an increase in people coming through the door.
Ah,the Snail. So much cool stuff but just a strange place when it comes to bread and butter comic books and comic book knowledge. During my first visit to the Snail I asked the person behind the counter where the CGCs are located. He/she pointed upstairs. After climbing the stairs, I look around and realize I’m in the Collectible Card Games area.
However, I will say that I think the new Snail represents what the post-digital comic book shop must look like. The new comic shop cannot survive selling comics. Owners need to transform their shops into a Starbucks-like cultural hub, complete with coffee bar, clothes, accessories, figures, etc., nicely laid out with plenty of breathing room.
The dungeon-like shops that serve the hardcore aren’t going to be around in 5 years.
I must admit I walked by it and had to walk back. The door doesn’t have anything on it indicating that it’s the store you’re looking for. It is hard to spot when you are on the same side of the street as the store.
The store front definitely drew people in. Although there is more foot traffic, they are loosing that pull into their store. I wouldn’t go up a large staircase like that unless I knew I wanted to go up there.
Clearly I disagree with the sentiment that a comics-only store can’t survive in the current climate as I run a comics-only store that has been growing dramatically over the past year.
As for the Snail, it’s a great location, and the store looks great. Second story retailing is not easy, but not impossible.
I agree completely. Unless I knew what I was after I generally don’t go into a store unless it’s on ground level. I usually completely miss basement/second story shops.
I had a quick visit to the new Snail today and I must say, the store looks slick. Well organized with much more space to manoeuver. However it’s lost it’s charm and feels more like a dimly lit Future Shop. A big disappointment for me was that they repriced all their bin stock. Now, a worthless 90s filler book will cost you anywhere from $3-$5… just like what the guide says they’re worth…
The new Snail is not for people like me but it’s a great destination for tourists and for people who like to pay full retail for entertainment commodity. The Snail reboot is also a great ‘jumping on point’ for new readers (…this phrase never gets old). The best part about the Snail is the great view of Yonge street, in particular the bright red letters BMV…
The store was very busy for a Friday afternoon which is a good sign and the staff was… well, unfortunately they’re the same. I may visit the Snail again, next year to see if any of their 90s filler books have appreciated over the course of a year and if Overstreet has anything to say about it, it will have doubled by then, despite the recession so grab them while you can.