The Sport Bar Commemorative plaque, 2022.
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Resource ID
10122
Access
Open
Address
579 Bloor St W, Toronto, ON M6G 1K1
Credit Line
Heritage Toronto
Date of Creation
2022
Historical Themes
Program Category
Rights
Heritage Toronto
Time Period
Caption
The Sport Bar Commemorative plaque, 2022.
Description
The Sport Bar was Anne and Ed Mirvish’s first business. Opened in 1940 at Bloor and Markham Streets, the womenswear store evolved into Honest Ed’s discount department store several years later.
Anne Mirvish provided money to start the Sport Bar, as well as the name and concept. The store was aimed at the thousands of young women with disposable income who had come to work in Toronto’s wartime factories. Ed Mirvish bought clothes in bulk from the Spadina Avenue garment district and delivered them to the store by streetcar.
The Mirvishes often gave their customers store credit, believing workers in the booming wartime economy could afford to pay. They then sold the credit debt to collection companies, allowing them to receive payment immediately. The Sport Bar was an instant success and expanded along Bloor Street.
In 1944, their son David was born, and Ed took over running the store, which they renamed Anne and Eddie’s. Dissatisfied selling only women’s clothing, Ed began buying a mix of stock from bankrupt businesses: potato peelers, bird feeders, and egg beaters.
In 1948, the couple changed the store’s name and concept again. Honest Ed’s Famous Bargain House opened near here in spring of that year.
Marker lat / long: 43.66471, -79.412234 (WGS84)