Honest Ed's

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The legendary Honest Ed's lightbulbed sign

Honest Ed's is a landmark discount store located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is named for its proprietor, Ed Mirvish.

From its prominent location at the corner of Bloor and Bathurst Streets in the middle of Mirvish Village, its glitzy exterior (the light displays are spectacular after dark) belies its very humble interior, with uneven, creaky floors and simple displays of low-priced merchandise, ranging from vacuum cleaners to winter coats to soup. Much of the store's decor consists of posters and photos from Mirvish stage productions.

Every piece of signage, right down to the prices of individual items, is a hand-painted showcard created by a traditional in-house signpainter. The outside facade is peppered with humorous slogans such as, "Come in and get lost!" and "Only the floors are crooked!"

The store consist of two buildings connected by a walkway to allow customers to travel from the west building on Markham Street to the east building on Bathurst Street.

Mirvish gained fame for his marketing stunts, including loss leader specials and free turkey giveaways near certain holidays.

He has also become famous in the neighbourhood for holding birthday parties for himself every year since 1988. At these street parties, there is lots of free cake, meals, hot dogs, candy, and giveaways. The neighbours who know about the annual bash come prepared with their kids, cousins, and their cousins' kids, waiting in long lines to get a piece the freebies. There are live bands, balloons, and everything a real party could need.

Other Mirvish-owned buildings in Toronto include the Princess of Wales Theatre and Royal Alexandra Theatre. Mirvish does not own the Canon Theatre, but it is responsible for day-to-day business operations.

The gallery and spaghetti restaurant called Old Ed's Warehouse on King Street West near Royal Alexandra Theatre has since closed.

Honest Ed's is located at 581 Bloor Street West, Toronto, ON, Canada, and is open Monday to Friday 10am until 9pm, Saturdays 10am to 6pm, and Sundays 11am to 6pm.