No subway Tuesday? No problem for area businesses

TTC shutdown due to environmental leak at College Station a windfall

Firefighters on the scene of a fuel leak at College Street subway station. Melvin Gomez//Toronto Observer

A busy section of Toronto’s subway line was closed Tuesday morning due to a leak of a fuel-like fluid at College Station, causing the TTC to shut down the Yonge-University-Spadina line between Bloor and Union as a precaution.

Thousands of riders were impacted by the subway closure, but for some businesses the closure did not slow them down.

A 7-Eleven on the corner of Yonge and College streets actually saw a boost in sales.

“There was an increase,” said Elaine Barrett, an assistant manager at 7-Eleven, in an interview on Wednesday. “We sold more coffee and TTC tokens.”

She credits it to the higher foot traffic along Yonge St. due to the subway’s five hour long closure.

Thousands of people were packed into 70 shuttle busses. Long lineups formed, and for many riders, walking was seen as a better alternative.

“More people on the streets means more people in the store,” Barrett said.

California Sandwiches also reaped the benefits of the subway closure.

“Our lunch rush lasted longer then usual,” Vanissa Reeves said, at California Sandwiches.

“This area is typically full of businessmen so we usually have our regular customers but we did have a lot of new customers,” Reeves said.

About this article

By: Melvin Gomez
Posted: Mar 26 2015 8:50 pm
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