[URBAN NOTE] "Long queue of customers arrive for last shot at Honest Ed's hand-painted signs"

[rfmcdonald]

The Toronto Star's Peter Goffin reports on a historic moment at Honest Ed's. I'm glad that I took part in this.

Frank Salerno has gone to work at Honest Ed’s almost every day for 57 years, but rarely has he had a welcome like the one he experienced Saturday.

Arriving at Toronto’s beloved bargain emporium before dawn, the 74-year-old hardware buyer found a queue of customers that stretched around the block.

“I come in here around 6:15 a.m. and there were people lined up,” Salerno said. “(The store) opened at 8.”

Honest Ed’s is selling off the last of its distinctive hand-painted signs, and shoppers staked out spots at Bathurst and Bloor Sts. as early as 2:30 a.m. for to buy the keepsakes, said store spokesperson Franca Longobardi.

Ed’s will close at the end of December, to be replaced by residential towers, restaurants, artists’ studios and retail space.