Boston Pizza Charleswood Now Open

They had a soft opening last weekend for invited guests but even throughout this past week there have been worker doing finishing touches. Still, the open now sign is affixed to the Charleswood location of Boston Pizza.

It took a number of months in the fall to construct the building but having the doors open before Christmas will likely drive traffic for months to come.

Once known at the Forest Park Mall, the Charleswood Shopping Centre fell on tough times as it lost anchor tenants. After substantial changes, it went from enclosed mall to connect box mall and eventually added popular Tim Horton's and now Boston Pizza to its streetside parking lot.

For a long time Charleswood was underserved for restaurants. A few restaurants associated with hotels and a few Greek places, a Sorrento's,  a couple of take-outs and a Robin's was the hallmark of the area. That has changed.

It is tough being in the hospitality business but there is room for in Charleswood for some more if space was even available. Young people have routinely had to leave the neigbourhood in the past to be able to sit down and have a bite and a drink and watch a game.

With the Boston Pizza's opening, the Charleswood Shopping Centre is more or less fully leased and has a vitality now that was missing as little as 10 years ago.