Fans flock to Yorkdale for Drake’s new store
Hundreds of Drake fans filled an entire hallway of Yorkdale Mall on Saturday, forming a snaking line, all eagerly waiting to enter the rapper’s new flagship store.
The OVO store — which stands for October’s Very Own, Drake’s brand for everything from his record label to his music festival — sells apparel such as sweaters, shoes and hats, as well as water bottles and lighters.
Some Drake fans channelled the rapper’s owl logo and camped out overnight to be the store’s first customers. By mid-afternoon, 600 people had entered the store, with hundreds more waiting.
“I didn’t sleep, we just messed around to kill time,” said Omar Hassan, who arrived at 6 p.m. Friday and got into the store at 11 a.m. Saturday. Hassan plans to resell some of the merchandise he bought.
Customers leaving the store described it as small. Hassan said its gold and white interior looked like a “rich person’s closet.”
“I came all the way from Louisiana for OVO Fest,” said rapper Jade Delvale, referring to the annual music festival Drake founded that will kick off on Monday. “I’m a big Drake head anyway, so seeing this line is not surprising.”
Keelie Belmonte was upbeat despite her sore legs after waiting with her son for nearly 10 hours to get in.
“There’s a few collector items, so hopefully we’ll be successful in our quest,” she said. “(Drake’s) the man, Toronto represent.”
Security guards allowed about 10 to 15 customers in at a time, with no limit on how long they could shop.