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Christie's

Christie, Brown and Company, Limited
A Brief History

Duke Street, south side, between George and Frederick Streets. Looking south, west. 1902
Toronto Reference Library/Baldwin Collection


 

Famous for decades for its many biscuits, cookies etc. it was once Canada's largest biscuit factory. Products such as Arrowroot biscuits which made for happy babies; Oreo cookies, Chips Ahoy, Ritz crackers and Dad's cookies were all consumer favourites. An advertising theme was "Mr. Christie, you make good cookies."

William Mellis Christie born in Scotland, January 5, 1829 (died, June 14, 1900). He arrived in Canada in 1848.
Together with Alexander Brown created in 1853 Christie, Brown and Company, Limited.

First located in downtown Toronto in 1874 on Duke Street (Now, Adelaide Street East), a new plant was opened at
10 Park Lawn Road (west of the Humber River) between Lake Shore Blvd. W. and The Queensway in 1950.

TTC Long Branch route car eastbound on Lake Shore Blvd. West. 1966
Bank of Montreal on corner of Park Lawn Road.

ENLARGE


The business was acquired in 1928 by Nabisco an equally well known Canadian company including it famous Shredded Wheat breakfast food. An all natural food product long before "natural" became fashionable.

In later years Kraft Foods acquired Christie's, and in 2012 created Mondelez Canada to take over this line of products. Mondelez Canada promptly proclaimed the plant's "….operations no longer viable" and closed it November 28, 2013.
The last worker to leave the plant on that day (his birthday) was William Mclean after 43 years seniority.

The property as of February 2018 is waiting approval of a massive residential development of high rises.


 

 



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