World's Biggest Bookstore set to become restaurant row

The iconic World's Biggest Bookstore in downtown Toronto will become a row of four restaurants by fall of 2015, promises the developer which bought the property last year.

The new property owner, Lifetime Developments, is building a "new culinary mecca" at 20 Edward St.

No restaurants have been named as possibilities for the space, but the developer has offered "multi‐level patio opportunities, soaring ceiling heights, column free space, and common 'back of house' elements."

The plans began when the closure of the World's Biggest Bookstore was announced in November of last year. It will close in March.

The World's Biggest Bookstore was not the world's biggest bookstore, but sold books on three floors of retail space since 1980, when it took over the space from a bowling alley. The "world's biggest" misnomer became a trend in the area, which saw the World's Biggest Shoe Store and other retailers using the boast as well in the decades since it opened.

The store's signage is visible from a popular section of Yonge Street, just steps from Toronto Eaton Centre and Yonge-Dundas Square.