This location is in the Stafford Shopping Plaza in Bells Corners…read more Mark's used to be called Mark's Work Warehouse as they carried things like steel-toed shoes, overalls, reflective strips, coats for sub-zero temperatures, scrubs (medical uniforms), etc., so essentially "work clothes." But they rebranded a few years ago, dropped the "Work Warehouse" part of their name and are marketing themselves as also a regular clothes store. They still sell the same things though. Their "regular clothes" are very basic and functional. Good if you are looking for basic t-shirts, black pants, etc. But not if you're looking for anything stylish, at least not in my opinion. They do carry very large sizes here. I have regularly seen sizes 4XL and 5XL here, and they are usually heavily discounted. So if these are your sizes, you will likely make out like a bandit. Unfortunately for me though, their sizes do not run small. Especially for pants, even their smallest size is usually too big for me (and I'm not THAT small, my jeans are a size 26). However, if you are an average-sized person or bigger, you will likely find clothes here that fit. They carry lots of plaid shirts and t-shirts of every color under the sun. So if you're looking for a specific coloured t-shirt say for a Halloween costume or something, they've got you covered! Clothes here are not my style and generally not even my size, but objectively I'll say that it's a cool store.

As per my previous review, Merivale Mall is still a sad little mall, but it is a little less sad…read morenow that a large Marshalls has opened up there. The Marshalls here is not as good as the Marshalls at Trainyards but it's not bad (if you like these kinds of stores, which I do - brand names at discount prices, count me in!). There were big renovations to this mall leading up to the grand opening of the Marshalls. It's no longer dark and grungy. It's bright and very spacious now. Although the lack of tenants makes the mall look rather sparse. There's still a Farm Boy, Shoppers Drug Mart, and Sportchek. T&T Tailors is still there (and they are still great). I think the shawarma place is gone. There's a Pizza Pizza instead. There's a rug store, a tanning salon, a hair salon and a cell phone accessories kiosk. And a handful of other small stores. The weird thing is that some stores are not accessible through the mall. You have to go outside to get into the store (i.e. Payless Shoes). There's lots of free parking, which is always a plus. I only go here for Marshalls, Farm Boy and T&T Tailors.

Small mall usually overlooked for basic stores like Sport Chek and Farm Boy, so there are very low…read morecrowds at any time of day. Still a few empty storefronts, so room to grow. Wish it had a coffee shop.

I love this HomeSense. It's fairly large, and I always walk out buying at least one thing…read more The store offers a large selection of pictures, household wares, books, furniture as well as linens. It is hard not to find anything at HomeSense that is not priced reasonably. Like other reviewers have mentioned, since it is located on Merivale Road, it should be avoided on the weekends. Not only that but avoid this location on Monday's as well, the stock is usually low, and the store is left with all the "left overs" from the weekend, that did not sale. Usually give it a day or two for the staff to load up the shelves with new goodies after their weekend rush. Best time to shop is Tuesday-Friday in the evening or morning. Don't forget, interior decorators get a discount at HomeSense!!

I was looking for a marble grinder today and a friend of mine told me to check out Homesense on…read moreMerivale or Innes. My first stop was the Innes Homesense and then the Merivale Homesense. Minus the drive on Merivale the trip to Homesense was pretty good. This Homesense is massive! There are a lot of items at this store and like most Homesense's the stock changes weekly. There were a lot of items for the house, some nice, some awfully hard to look at! The good thing about this Homesense is that there are a lot of items for pretty reasonable prices. I'd recommend going on a weekday as Merivale seemed like a zoo today and I hear it's like that on weekends.

I have always loved Costco, but I went recently during the Covid-19 Pandemic and I have to say that…read moreI was very impressed with the way they ran things and now I love them even more. Masks are mandatory at Costco during these pandemic times, and if you don't have your own, they will give you a disposable one for free. They take the mask directly from the box with a pair of tweezers and hand it to you that way, so the workers don't touch the mask or you. They also have hand sanitizer at the entrance. They spray down the carts as well. The shopping experience inside is similar to Pre-Covid times, other than the fact that there are less shoppers allowed into the store, so it's less crowded. There is also plexiglass at the cash registers. They still take cash. The food area is open for takeaway only. You order at the touchscreen and pay there too. Only cards are accepted here, no cash. Fountain drinks are given to you by a staff member (no self-serve), they do ask you if you want ice or not, which I thought was nice. Once your food is ready, they call out your order and you go and get it. I don't know how long this pandemic is going to last, nor do I know how many of these measures will continue once the pandemic is over. However, I think Costco has handled things well. Costco has a special place in my heart because my usual Costco companion is my brother and we have brother-sister together time at Costco when we go. My most recent visit to this Costco though was with a new friend I met at work (I was deployed to a new work location for the Covid-19 Emergency Response and hardly knew anyone there when I first started). Costco, helping people bond, one relationship at a time, lol. I guess I should write a blurb about what Costco actually is, right? Although I think everyone knows that Costco is a store that sells items mostly in bulk, and you need a membership to shop there. Memberships start at about $55/year. Members can bring guests though. They take debit, cash or Costco credit card (they don't take other credit cards). Pre-Covid, they would give out samples of their items. Samples of course are no more. They have their house brand, Kirkland, which is actually quite good. Prices are cheaper than regular prices at mainstream grocery stores, but not really cheaper than sale prices at mainstream grocery stores. Although Costco has a lot of exclusive products, which I like. In addition to items you would find at regular grocery stores, they also carry electronics, books, toys, clothes and jewelery. There is also a pharmacy and an optical at Costco. They also have a Costco gas station and prices are about $0.10 a litre less than at other gas stations. There's lots of free parking.

For the price, you can not go wrong with the resto at Costco. This HUGE pizza is absolutely…read moredelicious. I prefer the cheese myself as the pepperoni gets a bit oily. This could easily feed 4/5 people with one pie. Cost is 13.99. I wish they still had the all dressed but this in a pinch when you are at Costco really does the job

It's hit and miss here but I'm hard pressed to leave here empty handed between the spice area, pet…read morearea and candles! Great place for gifts. Small furnishings. The clothing area is overwhelming so I skip right on by that but... There is also the amazing beauty section. I also check out the end aisles for clearance items at the back. Why pay more? Parking is ok. It can get very busy any time of day, any day and shares the lot with other great stores. The lines can be lonnnnng and tedious. I wish they had more check outs open. Or self check outs. Staff always ask for my MAXX card. Does this really do anything when they scan it? I never return anything, anyways. Best part . Dog friendly! Thank you, Winners! Best advice... Bring your own bags. I bring a big basket and bags as those candles get heavy! The seasonal scents and decor are great! Also, if you see something you really like, grab it! It may not be there the next day!

We visited yesterday, a Friday between Christmas and New Year's Eve, and I have to say that I was…read morepleased with how bright and clean, tidy and organized it was. There are bigger Winners outlets than this one, but this one served our purposes for this visit. I was also pleased that Winners would allow refunds on items purchased in a different city. There's something about how the clothes are hung and displayed on movable metal racks that reminds me of Value Village and other such stores. It's not as cramped here thought.

TLDR: Smaller Costco, no gas station, but great customer service…read more So I finally did it: I got my own Costco membership. Once upon a time, I used to go to Costco with my brother pretty regularly (he has a membership). It was part of our hanging out time, and I loved it. I remember once a few years ago I was in a mall and there was a kiosk set up to sell Costco memberships. They were giving out free stuff, so I had to stop and take a look, haha. The man asked me if I was a Costco member and I said no, but my brother was and he'd take me every week or two, so I was familiar with Costco. He told me if I got my own membership I could go anytime I wanted, but if going to Costco was this thing my brother and I did and it was our quality time together then I shouldn't get my own membership and just continue to go with my brother. I thought that was such a lovely thing to say. And he ended up giving me the free cookies or chocolate or whatever it was they were giving out anyway, lol. Well fast forward to present day and my brother is super busy with his kids, his work and other stuff and we haven't been to Costco together now for several years. He still goes regularly, but on his own right at opening on a weekend (he's on the other side of town, and I'm not an early bird, so I definitely don't go with him). He still buys me stuff when I ask him like Craisins, pumpkin seeds and almond butter (staples in my house), but I don't get to browse and see what's new in the warehouse. What precipitated me getting a membership, believe it or not, was a jar of avocado mayo. I love avocado mayo (I'm talking 100% of the oil used is avocado oil, not the Hellman's Avocado mayo that's mostly canola oil with a bit of avocado oil mixed in) but it's expensive as hell at grocery stores (like $15 for a tiny 355ml jar). When I saw in the Costco flyer that a 946ml jar was only $9.49 I immediately asked my brother to buy it for me. However, it's only available at regular Costcos and my brother only goes to the Costco Business Centre these days. What's an avocado mayo loving girl to do in this situation? Get her own Costco membership and buy a jar herself! My husband and I were in Kanata for an afternoon function, so we decided to head over to this Kanata Costco to buy a membership and the avocado mayo. We were served by Ziny at the Customer Service Desk, who was very courteous, informative and helpful. We got our memberships and headed into the warehouse. This location is smaller than most Costcos and their food court area is also very small. They don't have a gas station either. Anyway, we found the avocado mayo and it was even $0.50 less than advertised ($8.99). Score! We picked up a few other items too. They were giving out samples of various items, but most of them were either not of interest to me, or there were hoards of people crowding around. Now I like free stuff, but my dislike of crowds is stronger, so I kept going. I did manage to get a sample of some S'mores clusters ;) It was my first time at this Kanata Costco. I heard that the plan is to close it and open a new location at the Tanger Outlets that will be bigger and have a gas station. There is no timeline that I know of, and it's just what I heard, so not sure if it will happen. Anyway, that's my Costco story. This location is across from the Kanata Centrum. Obviously there's free parking on-site. (78)

Oof, this place is dangerous. I make a list and try to stick…read moreby it. Parking is coocoo, I try to go at off times. Mid day or just before close. Employees are always kind at check out but I wish there were a few more on the floor. It's a big place and I can never find what I need the most! Things get moved around so much or get discontinued so if you see something great, buy it! Samples... ugh. I'm always hungry as I get so busy, I forget to eat. Yum. I love everything they serve. Unless egg or mayo related. Customers are usually friendly and one has to be understanding in this place as the shopping carts are huge! I love looking at seasonal items, avoid the sweets, clothing and books. And the cold rooms, brrr! I tend to buy all my paper products there and am addicted to their croissants. Sooo many in a batch tho so I like to give some away while fresh as they don't freeze well. I buy hamburger and cut it 4 times to freeze as I am an expert now at pasta sauce for my lasagna and chili. I bought recently a heated blanket I'm in love with and want another one but I think they are all gone now. I save a lot of $ buying Timmies kcups when on sale as those suckers are pricey anywhere else. All this writing about it, I'm starving and may go right now. Thanks a lot, Yelp!!!!! :)

So this Giant Tiger is one of their newer locations. It's fairly large and well-stocked…read more Giant Tiger is a discount store. It reminds me of Bargain Harold's and BiWay of days past. Their clothes are fairly low quality, but if you want an ugly Christmas sweater or something to make a Halloween costume out of, Giant Tiger will do. Their toys are mostly no name brands (like imitation Barbies and imitation Lego), but they do have some Squishmallows and other cute stuffed animals. Their housewares are not high end, but they have interesting items, like clocks where the hands are wrenches and screwdrivers, so cute for a workshop or something like that. Their grocery items are actually really good prices. Especially their sales. I've purchased boxes of Chapman's ice cream bars there for $1.99, and also a box of 4 Nestle Drumsticks for $1.99. I've purchased Pineapples there for $1. Staff here are friendly, the store is clean, and there's lots of free parking in the strip mall.

Great place to just go in and discover things you probably don't need or forgot even existed…read morebecause most stores do not carry that brand anymore. Or even better is when you find food in ridiculously large sizes that end up lasting you at least up until a week after the suggested best before date. It was the latter that actually taught me as an adult that 'Best Before Dates' are just like the Pirate Code, they're more like guidelines. I've also found DVD sets of old shows that I remember watching from years ago but had no idea were ever released for home viewing because I honestly didn;t think anyone else but me watched them. Case in point Season 1 of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Land of the Lost (an after school staple for many years), Old School Denis the Menace cartoons, and Bordertown.

I had a fabulous experience here today! Initially got roped in by their advertising, "From Paris…read moreWith Love". Store clerk was very attentive right off the bat. I usually don't like it when they're all over you trying to assist, but we are going to a wedding in a couple of weeks and I need new clothes!! She went right to work, finding matching items at the right size, and got assistance from the manager when needed - this woman gave great advice! It turns out the clerk was new, and this ended up being a training session. Well, it took about an hour and a half - so much time I never spend on myself, but we'll worth it here! I tried different styles in different colours, and ended up with a complete outfit, including a necklace, all at a 25% discount. Bravo! The only thing I did not get was shoes. Saved that for another shopping trip.

A couple of weeks ago, my daughter and I went shopping at Melanie Lyne in Bayshore. There is an…read moreamazing lady by the name of Laura who helped us in our choices and made our shopping experience enjoyable. Laura is a very nice lady who gives an honest opinion in a gentle way. I will go back there because of her.