Montreal-based furniture retailer Cozey coming to Rideau Street as Urban Outfitters leaves

David Sali

May 22, 2025

Montreal-based Cozey has leased nearly 3,700 square feet of space on two floors at 137 Rideau St.

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An up-and-coming Canadian furniture retailer has chosen downtown Ottawa for its latest brick-and-mortar store as it shifts away from an online-only business model. Montreal-based Cozey is leasing space at 137 Rideau St. for a pop-up location that will be open from June until the end of next January, the company’s director of marketing, Felix Robitaille, told OBJ on Thursday. Robitaille said company officials toured various neighbourhoods in the capital and considered leasing space in Westboro, but they ultimately decided Rideau Street was “by far the best location” for the store due to its proximity to light rail as well as major visitor attractions such as the Rideau Centre and the ByWard Market. “We were trying to find the most impactful location for us in that market,” he explained. “Rideau (Street) has a lot of eyes on it. There’s a lot of foot traffic. The building itself looked great as well. “Our objective with doing pop-up stores is also to generate awareness. We felt like having it on Rideau (Street) was more accomplishing that objective than having it in Westboro.” Founded in 2020, Cozey began as an e-commerce operation before branching out into brick-and-mortar retail last year with a 3,600-square-foot store on Queen Street West near downtown Toronto. The retailer later opened a series of pop-up shops, starting with a spot on Montreal’s south shore. Cozey founder and CEO Frédéric Aube said last year the temporary locations were designed to gauge customer interest and gather insights on the firm’s “impact in various Canadian cities.” “This will guide us in determining prime locations for future flagship stores across the country," Aube said. Cozey has since opened temporary stores in Vancouver and New York City, Robitaille said. If the pop-up on Rideau Street is successful, it could lead to Cozey setting up a permanent store in the city, he added. “That’s the goal,” he said. “We know from the online sales that Ottawa is a good market for us. There are a lot of sales on our e-commerce platform happening in Ottawa.” Candice Lerner-Fry, head of the retail leasing division at the local office of Marcus & Millichap, said the deal includes nearly 3,700 square feet of space on two floors previously occupied by a vape shop. “It’s going to be new and exciting for Ottawa to have a tenant of that … cachet,” Lerner-Fry said.

Retail upheaval on Rideau Street

The retailer’s arrival in the Ottawa market follows a major U.S.-based fashion chain’s decision to vacate its space, which is located next door to Cozey’s new store. Urban Outfitters is leaving its two-storey, 11,858-square-foot location at 135 Rideau St., Lerner-Fry confirmed Thursday. The retailer discussed renewing its lease with the building’s new owner, Huntington Properties, but ultimately opted not to, she added. “I can’t give their reason, but it has nothing to do with the landlord,” Lerner-Fry said. The store is the Philadelphia-based retailer’s only location in the National Capital Region. The chain is the second major retailer to pull up stakes from Rideau Street in recent weeks, following Hudson Bay’s decision to shut down most of its locations nationwide last month. Urban Outfitters did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Thursday. Described as “offering prominent frontage along one of Ottawa's busiest pedestrian corridors,” the 135 Rideau St. space is listed at a rental rate of $30 per square foot. Located a block from the Rideau Centre and just a couple of hundred metres east of Live Nation’s new 2,000-seat History Ottawa live music venue that’s slated to open in early 2026, the space is part of a 52,000-square-foot building that Huntington Properties purchased from LaSalle Investment Management last fall. At the time, Huntington partner Craig Whitten said the company was exploring “alternative uses” for some of the property that could include “activity-based” businesses similar to escape rooms. Marcus & Millichap, which is brokering the leasing for the Urban Outfitters space, only found out a few weeks ago the retailer would be leaving and is still working on its marketing strategy, Lerner-Fry explained. “It’s an opportunity to bring in another new tenant for the area,” she said. “With Live Nation and all the money that’s being spent (on the new music venue), I think it’s an opportunity to bring in a really good tenant to provide a good synergy with what’s going on in the area. “We’re going to absolutely want to bring in someone that fits well with what the future has ahead for Rideau (Street) and the ByWard Market.”