I bought my very first camera there, I won't tell you how many years ago (but a hint: it was still called "Eddie Black's" back then), one of the scaled-back Nikon film SLRs (think "Nikkormat"). I've also bought cameras and pieces at Henry's, Vistek, and others, but it was that very first Nikon (and the generous assistance by Roberts Freimuts, Brian Asbury, and others in the NSS Camera Club, of course) that got me started in photography.
Bought by Telus a few years ago, Blacks struggled between its identity as a retailer of cameras and accessories and the management's desire to turn it into primarily a photographic print shop for the digital age. Sadly, they were not agile enough to keep up, and this week Telus apparently decided to pull the plug.
Another Canadian retail chain down the drain. Sigh.
Update: Black's is back, but only as a photo print shop. Same web site, blacks.ca.
Update: Black's is back, but only as a photo print shop. Same web site, blacks.ca.