I needed to get my passport renewed. It had been almost a decade since I last got passport photos…read more Back then, I got mine at Costco. They were cheap and good quality. During the pandemic, Costco decided to shut down its photo centre permanently. Bummer. Where should I go? I did a search of a passport photo place that was open after 6 pm on a Saturday. I came across Grace Convenience on McCowan Road, a block south of Finch Avenue East. This store is in a small plaza. I had no problem backing into an available parking spot. There was a man outside smoking. I would soon find out that he owned the store and would end up taking my passport photo. I walked into the store and asked if he did passport photos. He did. It was $14.99 for two hardcopy photos. You can only pay by cash or debit. He has a small section for taking photos. I sat on a stool with a white background and he guided me through the process. He was concerned about my bangs. I said that all my passport photos had bangs in them (I've had them all my life, except for when I was born) and they were never an issue. He nodded. I looked at the first couple of photos. I politely asked if I could get another one taken. Third time was the charm. I looked less like a criminal wanted for some horrible break-and-enter offence. He spent time printing my photos, stamping the back of them, and signing them. He then safely placed them in an envelope and let me know that I didn't need any guarantors to renew my passport. He was thorough and helpful, which I appreciated. While he was preparing my photos, I looked at the cold beverages. I saw a kiwi strawberry AriZona drink that I had never had. Getting my photos done made me thirsty, so I got this drink. At this point, there were three other male customers behind me at the counter. I paid for my photos and drink with a debit card. I tapped and was done. I thanked this man for his help. I walked out of the store and headed to my car. My kiwi strawberry drink was so good. I loved the flavours and it was cold. It hit the spot. My passport photos turned out nicely. A couple of days later, I applied for my passport renewal. I now have my new passport. I like that I wore a green shirt to this photo shoot. It added a cheerful pop of colour to a rather mundane document. If you need a quality passport photo fast, come here. He probably took no longer than ten minutes to have my passport photos ready. I'm pleased with the results. I would come here again in another ten years and hope that it's still around! (118)

Pro Passport Photo available here. Opens on holidays and weekends…read more Check this out if you need passport photos in Toronto & GTA areas, especially when you need them fast: https://www.propassportphoto.com/storelocator/

In this busy plaza tucked away in the back off of Lawrence Ave E is the Daily Express Convenience…read morestore. Yes, I does not say Express on the signage but the owner assures me his store is called Daily Express Convenience. It's not a large place but it has essentials such as lotto tickets, an ATM, snacks and drinks, alongside with stamps, and TTC tickets. Heck, if you require Fax and Copy service, he has this too! These small businesses are in a fight to survive mode every day so that's why I stopped in here to make my purchases of a lotto ticket and a snack for the road.

This convenience store is a small stall that sells more things than your typical convenience store…read more They cut keys, take passport photos, and sell greeting cards, among other things. There are regular things such as candy bars, salty snacks, refrigerated drinks, ice cream, and lottery tickets. Interestingly, they expanded to sell Marijuana accessories such as lightrs and RAW paper rollers. Next door to them is a Marijuana store. There are Zippo lighters and ornate pocket knives also. The current owner bought over this store 11 years ago. He believes this store has been around more than 25 years. The owner is quite friendly. Shefield Express is a chain store, mostly in British Columbia and Alberta provinces. There are only 5 locations in Ontario. There is no free WiFi but you can use the mall's WiFi. The store is wheelchair accessible. There are no washrooms but you can use the mall's washrooms. There is free parking at the mall's parking lot. Review 2023-092

Checking out my lotto ticket since I'm in the Lawrence Ave E and Kipling Ave area…read more A friendly small business owner greeted me and processed my request. Hats off to people that put in long hours to make ends meet!

I often have Amazon deliveries sent to an Amazon locker, especially if they are smaller items. It's…read morepeace of mind if I am away to have items safely stored and I can pick them up at my convenience. I use a barcode that gets sent to my inbox once my package is stored in a locker. Scanning this barcode at the locker is the key to opening the locker and fetching my package. I typically go to the Amazon locker at Whole Foods. A couple of days ago, the entire Amazon locker had no power. My guess is that the thunderstorms and power outages affected this Amazon locker. I couldn't fetch my package. I had made another order. I couldn't select my usual locker. It was obviously out of service so the option was removed. Instead, I chose to pick up my order at New Gen Superstore. It's in a small plaza on the southeast corner of Brimley Road and 14th Avenue. It's also closer to my home. There was plenty of parking when I came here after I was done working from home. I backed into a spot and walked in. This place is a large convenience store. I looked and didn't see any lockers. I had the nicest man behind the counter interact with me. I asked him if this place was an Amazon location. He said yes. I said that I had an order. He asked for my name. I provided it and he went over to the other side of the room to fetch it. I also got a barcode in my inbox from Amazon. He scanned it from his phone. He then scanned the barcode on the package to indicate that it was picked up. We had a nice chat. His store is also a full-service FedEx. Nice! This store had a lot of snacks and cold drinks. What stood out was a lot of space devoted to lottery tickets. You could sit down with your scratch-and-hopefully-win tickets and play until you are rich or poor. This store is cool in my books. When I saw the peanut M&M's guy with a bunch of candy, I knew that I would love this store. I had a great experience here. I'd return to check out the drinks and more. It will likely be my new Amazon location for order pickups. (275)

Dropped into this small convenience store plaza location because my girlfriend wanted to buy a…read morelotto ticket. It's a quiet store and not a well-known smoke & gift place that I've heard of before. I'm sure the owner puts in long hours. He was subdued and processed the lotto request quickly. Hats off to small businesses!