Roots – Brookfield Place

Located inside of Brookfield Place just beside the Hockey Hall of Fame store, this Roots location is like an oasis of calm amidst the corporate suits that dwell in the PATH below. I was feeling a bit sick and down in the dumps, and since sadness and sweatpants go hand-​in-​hand, I wandered in here to browse around.
I was approached by a sales associate, Sean, who was extremely friendly and helpful without being awkward or overbearing, and went above and beyond to make my experience inside the store the best that it could be. In fact, all of the staff I saw and spoke with in the store were awesome.
There was no stock of the particular sweatpant I was looking for, and after turning the store upside-​down to check, Sean suggested the Roots delivery service. Roots delivery service! Apparently Roots will deliver items to another store, an office, or even your home, free of charge. Good to know. I gladly took advantage of the offer, and had the sweatpants I wanted delivered to my home. Paid for everything in the store, and was told to expect the delivery by Purolator within 2 – 4 days. Easy. Even though I was leaving the store empty-​handed, Sean offered me a bag, a gift box, and some tissue paper just in case.
I left the store feeling a million times better than when I went in – which can’t be attributed to retail therapy, since I bought a gift for someone else. Really good customer service seems like such a treat these days, and I was blown away by the level of care that the employees here showed their customers.
Roots usually has some good promotions going throughout the year — I took advantage of the 25% off sweats deal — so I urge anyone to check this store out for some comfortable, Canadian clothing!

Not a fan of Roots in general. I find it over price and dull. And «Roots» has a weird meaning in Australia (
). That said, as a gift for Asian friends in Asia, Roots isn’t a bad «look something from Canada, designer, can’t get it here» type choice.
As Denise notes, this story isn’t super well trafficked and therefore a great place to look if a size/​item is sold out at the Eaton Centre store. Odd are they might have it and you can get here via the underground.

I like this Roots because it’s never crowded and they actually have a pretty good selection. It’s smaller than most locations, but they manage to cram a lot of stuff in there through efficient use of space. They renovated it a year or so ago and the layout feels spacious. You’ll find women’s and men’s wear, yoga stuff, footwear, leather accessories, jewellery/​watches, and gift items. No kids stuff last time I checked. Since this location is not busy, the staff are always super-​chatty and helpful. They styles aren’t that exciting and don’t change much from year to year, but their sweats are sooo soft and comfy, their gym/​yoga wear is decent (and cheaper than Lululemon), and their leather bags are really well-​made. Roots stuff also makes a great gift if you are traveling somewhere and want to bring gifts that are very ‘Canadian’.