Theodore Pringle Loblaw 1872-1933

Photo by Alan Brown - October, 2008

Photo by Alan Brown - October, 2008

Plaque Location

The County of Simcoe
The Township of Essa
North of Alliston, off Country Road 15 (King Street), about 5 km north of Highway 89, at the Stevenson Farms B&B, street number 5923 at the end of the laneway

Plaque Text

T.P. Loblaw was born in Elmgrove, Ontario to William James Loblaw and Isabella Stevenson. Orphaned in his teens, he was raised by his Scottish-born grandparents, William and Elizabeth Stevenson, who lived in the farmhouse on this property. At age 17 he moved to Toronto with twenty dollars and a dream. In 1897, Loblaw married Isabella Adam and in 1900 purchased his first grocery store on College Street with partner J. Milton Cook. Loblaw pioneered the concept of self-service grocery stores that provided all types of food products under one roof and opened the first Loblaw Groceteria in 1919. His innovative merchandising methods fundamentally changed the way people shopped for food in Canada. He donated generously to the Toronto Western Hospital, the Toronto Kiwanis Club and Alliston's Stevenson Memorial Hospital. Loblaw is buried at the Alliston Union Cemetery. He was inducted into the Canadian Business Hall of Fame in 1999.

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