Despite lockdown orders, Hudson Bay on Queen Street remains open, citing “ shopping among other essential items ”

Hudson’s Bay Company may not be that essential after all.

Department store giant Queen Street’s headquarters remained fully open on Monday despite a lockdown ordered by the province, but a government source said law enforcement officials at Star are looking into whether the store can be opened.

A company spokesperson said the store is “essential” because it sells groceries.

“At this time, while most of our stores in Toronto and Peel only offer curbside pickup, the Hudson’s Bay Queen Street location, which offers groceries among other essential items, remains open with strict protocols in place such as indicated by the government, “HBC spokesperson Tiffany Bourre said in an email to the Star.

A Saks Food Hall, managed by Pusateri’s in the Saks outlet adjacent to the Bay, was only partially open on Monday. By Monday afternoon, the egg and dairy refrigerators were empty, there were no fresh produce, and about half of the store, including the prepared food section, was isolated.

While there were no milk, eggs, or fresh produce, there were many gastronomic specialties that Pusateri is famous for, including several high-end pasta types and olive oils imported from Italy and a number of salt varieties. chef favorites, including Maldon English sea salt – both regular and smoked – at $ 11.99 for a 240-gram box.

According to Pusateri staff, the location would only reopen on Monday, after being closed since March. The Pusateri website still lists the venue as closed and is not expected to reopen until January due to “limited access”.

The handful of shoppers roaming the Bay and Saks stores were outnumbered by the staff on Monday afternoon.

HBC has owned Saks since 2013.

When asked about the opening of the Bay, Ontario Premier Doug Ford said at an afternoon press conference that he would need to see what the Bay is selling.

“I should look into it and find out what they are actually selling. Do they sell hardware inside the Cove, sell other critical items, food? So that’s what I should look into, “Ford said.