The Pen Centre is home to national stores and brands like: Aeropostale, American Eagle, the Bay, H&M, HomeSense, Old Navy, Sears, SportChek, Winners. Choose to dine at one of The Pen Centre’s four full-service restaurants: Boston Pizza, Kelsey’s, The London Arms / Kahunaville, or grab a quick snack at The Pen Centre’s International Food Court Amphitheatre. Take in a movie on one of Landmark Cinemas ten screens’ stadium seating. Hang out with your friends in one of the comfortable soft seating stations throughout The Pen Centre.
Built in 1958 and called the Niagara Peninsula Centre, The Pen Centre was a single-level, outside strip mall with a Loblaw’s and fifty retail stores.
The 1966 renovation saw the name change to the Pen Centre. A Simpson-Sears and 80 new stores were added, making the Pen Centre Canada’s fourth largest shopping centre. The open-strip, with landscaped walkways between remained the same.
In 1973, Eaton’s opened. By 1975 the strip-mall was an enclosed, climate-controlled environment. In 1975 Robinson’s department store where Miracle Mart had been—now The Bay. 1982’s million-dollar renovation installed carpeting, mirrors, and skylights.
In 1994,a $40 million renovation and expansion added approximately 100,000 square feet and over 70 new stores. The Pen Centre’s over a million square foot facility was the largest shopping centre in Niagara.
In 2002, the Pen Centre’s major redevelopment of the former Eaton’s wing added another 170,000 square feet of retail space. This addition, beside the Food Court Amphitheatre offers high ceilings, bright skylights and spacious hallways.
In 2005, the completion of a new 50,000 square foot retail plaza in the southeast corner of the shopping centre’s parking lot, near Pier 1 added five exciting stores: HomeSense, The Shoe Company, Motherhood Maternity, George Richards, and Bowring. The demolition of the Sears Auto Centre added two new free-standing restaurants: Boston Pizza and Kelsey’s.
