Honest Ed's

Ed and Anne Mirvish opened "The Sport's Bar", a women's clothing store, near Bloor and Bathurst Streets in 1943, renting a property that was five metres (16') wide. The store proved popular. In 1946, the Mirvishes expanded after acquiring several buildings along Bloor, renaming the store "Anne & Eddie's". After a further expansion, Mirvish re-established the store as "Honest Ed's Bargain House" in 1948, adding general household goods to the inventory. In 1952, the Mirvishes acquired their first property on Markham Street, behind the store and eventually acquired several more homes on the street with the intent of building a parking lot. Instead, this evolved into the Mirvish Village neighbourhood in the 1960s after the city turned down the store's application to raze the buildings and Anne Mirvish persuaded her husband to rent the houses out to artists. In 1958, "Honest Ed's" expanded west to Markham Street to encompass 6,000 square feet and in 1984, the Honest Ed's annex building was completed expanding the store east to Bathurst Street.

The main building was at 581 Bloor Street West and the annex at 760 Bloor Street West with the two connected by a walkway crossing Honest Ed Alley.

Honest Ed's gained fame for its marketing stunts, including loss leader specials. By 1968 the store was grossing $14 million annually. Mirvish's annual turkey giveaway before Christmas always received media attention; this annual event continued even after his death, until the Christmas season of 2015. Mirvish also threw birthday parties for himself from 1988 until his death, continued since then as anniversary parties for the store itself. At the street parties, there were free cakes, meals, hot dogs, candy, and giveaways. Crowds of Torontonians turned up with their children and stood in long lines to receive these handouts. The event was accompanied by live bands and balloons.

Annual turkey giveaway

One of the store's most famous traditions was its annual Christmas turkey giveaway. Started by Ed Mirvish in 1987, the event distributed thousands of pounds of free turkeys to community members who lined up around the block, often standing in the cold for hours. The event often featured guest volunteers, including Toronto mayors and athletes such as Pinball Clemons. The tradition continued even after Ed Mirvish's death, with the final public giveaway taking place in December 2015, prior to the store's closure.

Honest Ed's was located originally on Markham Street at the corner of Bloor Street. The original entrance was on Markham Street. This was done because property taxes would be higher if the store was accessed from Bloor Street, a main arterial street. In the block between Markham and Bloor there was a Toronto-Dominion Bank and a Loblaw’s groceteria (a self-service grocery store), which was purchased and occupied as part of the store complex in the early 1950s. When lineups formed to gain access to the store Toronto police directed the lines to go down Markham Street again, to ensure the store was taxed as a Markham Street business instead of a Bloor Street business. Throughout the store were such hand-painted slogans and enticements to buy as "not cheaper anywhere else in Toronto", "You cannot do without this", and "Every home needs this".

Honest Ed's was located at the corner of Bloor and Bathurst Streets, extending the full length of the block west to Markham Street. The exterior was covered with huge red and yellow signs advertising the store's name, lit up like a theatre marquee. The store sign used 23,000 light bulbs. The outside facade was covered with puns and slogans such as "Come in and get lost!" and "Only the floors are crooked!"

The store consisted of a west building on Markham Street connected by a walkway with an east building on Bathurst Street. The interior was modest, with simple displays of low-priced merchandise from vacuum cleaners and winter coats to kitchenware, toys and grocery items. Much of the store's decor consisted of posters and photos from old films and stage productions from Mirvish's theatres in Toronto and London, England, and of actors and musicians who performed in them (many inscribed to Ed Mirvish). Every piece of store signage was hand-painted.

The new owners have demolished the structure as of March 2018 and intend to redevelop the 1.8 hectares (4.4 acres) of land; which also includes Mirvish Village and a stretch of retail buildings south of the Honest Ed building on Bathurst Street running down to Lennox Street, which were rented out by the Mirvishes to local businesses.