CLARKSON COMMUNITY NEWS
A Grocery Store Comes Back to Clarkson Village: Food Basics Opens at 1865 Lakeshore Rd. W.
If you drove past Clarkson Village Shopping Centre on the morning of July 9, you saw something this plaza has not seen in years: a lineup at the doors of a grocery store before they even opened. Food Basics officially opened its newest Ontario location at 1865 Lakeshore Rd. W., complete with a ribbon cutting, a cheque presentation to Food Banks Mississauga, and a crowd of Clarkson locals ready to see what all the fuss was about.
The details
The new store takes over the former HomeSense unit. At more than 32,000 square feet, it is Food Basics’ eighth Mississauga location and its 156th across Ontario, part of a wave of eight new stores the Metro-owned discount banner is opening in 2026. The Clarkson store created about 110 local jobs, and Mississauga Councillor Alvin Tedjo and MP Charles Sousa were both on hand to help cut the ribbon.
◈ Address: 1865 Lakeshore Rd. W., Clarkson Village Shopping Centre
◈ Hours: Monday to Sunday, 8 a.m. to 9 p.m.
◈ Store manager: Tara Gerow
◈ Size: 32,000+ square feet, full-service discount grocery
At the ceremony, Food Basics presented a $5,000 donation to Food Banks Mississauga, part of the company’s broader work on food insecurity alongside its One More Bite food recovery program. A welcome gesture at a time when food bank usage across Peel remains at record levels.
A bit of history for the long-time locals
Here is the part long-time Clarkson residents will appreciate. Clarkson Village Shopping Centre was originally anchored by a Dominion supermarket, back when the plaza was the retail heart of the neighbourhood. When Dominion became Metro, the grocery store eventually moved up to Clarkson Crossings at Truscott and Southdown, and the Lakeshore plaza went years without a grocery anchor.
So there is a nice symmetry here. Metro, the same parent company, has brought groceries back to the exact plaza where the neighbourhood used to shop, this time under its discount banner. Clarkson now has both: a full Metro at Clarkson Crossings and a Food Basics on Lakeshore.
“For a neighbourhood that has watched this plaza evolve for decades, it was a homecoming.”
Opening week deals worth knowing about
The banner’s promise is Always More for Less, and the grand opening flyer takes it literally. It runs July 9 to 15, with prices valid only at the new Lakeshore store and the Truscott Drive location. Highlights include strawberries at $1.50, fresh skinless chicken breast family packs at $3.98/lb (halal at the same price), bone-in pork chops at $2.22/lb, romaine hearts or a 4-pack of peppers at $2.88, 4L Lactantia PurFiltre milk at $4.98, and a hot BBQ chicken for $9.97. If your grocery bill has felt heavier lately, and whose hasn’t, this is the week to check it out.
What this means for Clarkson real estate
I write about Clarkson a lot, and this is exactly the kind of change that quietly moves a neighbourhood up buyers’ shortlists.
◈ Walkable groceries are a genuine amenity. The homes east of Southdown between Lakeshore and the rail corridor, along with the townhome and condo pockets around Clarkson Village, just gained a full grocery store within walking distance. When I show buyers around south Mississauga, “can I walk to get milk” comes up more often than you would think, especially with downsizers and first-time buyers coming from Toronto neighbourhoods where that is a given.
◈ A grocery anchor stabilizes the whole plaza. Grocery stores drive daily foot traffic in a way a HomeSense never could. That traffic supports the surrounding shops and restaurants along this stretch of Lakeshore, which complements the ongoing evolution of the Clarkson Village strip.
◈ A discount option matters at every price point. Lorne Park and Clarkson households alike watch their grocery bills. Having a discount grocer, a full-service Metro, and Clarkson GO all within a few minutes of each other is a practical, everyday argument for the area that does not show up in listing photos but absolutely shows up in how people live.
None of this transforms property values overnight, and I would never claim it does. But neighbourhood amenities compound. Clarkson already had the GO station with its express service to Union, the waterfront parks, and some of the best value-per-square-foot in south Mississauga. Now it has one more answer to the question every buyer eventually asks: what is it actually like to live here?
Thinking about Clarkson?
If you are curious what homes near Clarkson Village are selling for, or you are weighing Clarkson against Port Credit or Lorne Park, I am happy to walk you through the numbers.
This post is for general information only and does not constitute real estate, legal, or financial advice. Details about the store, pricing, and promotions are accurate as of the publication date and subject to change.
Sources
◈ INsauga: Grocery store grand opening this week in Mississauga
◈ INsauga: A grocery store returns to longtime Mississauga shopping plaza
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