Gateway Newstands

Gateway Newstands
Company typeSubsidiary
Industrynewsstand
Founded1983
Headquarters240 Chrislea Road,
Vaughan, Ontario
,
Canada
Number of locations
500+
Area served
Canada, United States
Key people
Mary Kelly - CEO
Kevin Farrell - Chief Operating Officer[1]
Productstobacco, lottery, snacks, soft drinks, newspaper
ParentTobmar Investments International Inc.
SubsidiariesBakery on the Go, Cafe on the Go
WebsiteGateway Newstands

Gateway Newstands [sic] is a chain of convenience stores and kiosks in large office buildings, shopping centres, public places, and transit stations in the United States and Canada. Established in 1983,[2] Vaughan, Ontario-based Tobmar Investments International Inc. (known simply as Tobmar) is the company that runs Gateway Newstands. The stores operate as independent franchisees and sell a wide variety of convenience items from tobacco and lottery tickets; to candy, chewing gum, and non-alcoholic beverages; and newspapers and magazines. There are currently over 500 Gateway franchises in the network. In late 2020, Gateway Newstands, along with its affiliate Tobmar Investments International Inc., decided to wind-down operations at its franchise locations in the United States. [3][4]

Gateway Newstands at Bloor Yonge subway station in Toronto
Gateway Newstands at Queen station

By May 2022, Gateway Newstands had filed for creditor protection with Gateway owing creditors $20 million. In 2020 and 2021, about 40 Gateway locations had closed dropping from 191 locations at the beginning of 2020 to 150 in April 2022. The business decline was attributed to a lack of foot traffic due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[5]

Gateway Newstands once operated over 300 locations in US and Canada in major urban centers. It had 65 locations in the Toronto subway system since the mid-1990s.[6] It is the exclusive newsstand retailer in North America’s 3rd largest transit system, the Toronto Transit Commission.[7] Competitors to Gateway Newstands accused the Toronto Transit Commission of sole-sourcing.[8]

  1. ^ "Company Overview of Tobmar Investments International Inc". Bloombery Businessweek. Archived from the original on November 9, 2014. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  2. ^ "About Us". Gateway Newstands. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  3. ^ "About Us". Gateway Newstands. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  4. ^ "Franchising Gateway Newstands". Gateway Newstands. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  5. ^ Saba, Rosa (May 10, 2022). "Gateway Newstands — a mainstay of TTC stations — goes into creditor protection after getting slammed by the pandemic". Toronto Star.
  6. ^ "GATEWAY - LEASE" (PDF). Toronto Transit Commission. 21 January 2013.
  7. ^ "About Us". Gateway Newstands. Retrieved 2020-09-10.
  8. ^ "TTC lease extension has newsstand competitor crying foul". thestar.com. 2013-01-24. Retrieved 2020-09-10.