The town of
Newmarket is blessed with a downtown
Main St. that is both architecturally eye appealing and practical for use, while still maintaining that small town feel. There may not be any fruit stands and markets as once marked the street, and there now remains only one manufacturer -
CanadaT.com custom silk screen printers - but there still does remain a small town charm that attracts many patrons, including movie productions, as she offers a great variety of shops, restaurants, clothiers, cafes, florists, niche businesses and offices, resulting in a working Main St. that successfully balances practicality with beauty. The local Historical Society has kept a good reign and it shows.
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| Attending The Jazz Fest? Don't forget Main St |
Sure, there are a few vacant holes to still fill with some empty units here and there, but slowly they have added a unique mix including offering international cuisine, from fine dining, to Mexican, Hungarian, Asian or - egads - Canadian cuisine! Even vegans are covered here with
Rawlicious opening recently as well a
Hungry Brew Hops brew pub complete with Red Seal Chef and featuring international beers creating a dining district the likes of which the town has not seen before!
The well maintained older buildings that adorn
Main are a focal strength, with tall church steeples visible from both ends as town serviced flowers bloom brightly along the Main St way. Additional
cool finds, include doggie groomers, kids and tweens shops, barbers and hair salons, tea shops, jewelers, comic books, gyms, gelato and i.c.parlours, "green" scooters, Reiko, and antiques, with the usual churches, daycare, and office space rounding things off. Take a look in the nooks and crannies to find great specialty shops like the Yarn Barn or Scottish ( Snowballs! and Flaky!) store which can be found at or on the adjoining side streets - all easily reached on foot.
You can even find 25 cents water!
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| Got An Idea? You could have it on a T-shirt! |
My last visit had me drop in to
CanadaT.com on
Main Street as I'd heard they were going to be making the shirts for the upcoming Newmarket Jazz + Festival, but as it turned out they were too busy to give it the attention needed. Too bad, as
Newmarket Main St's only manufacturer left you'd hope they'd have been able to but there is always next year! As it was Good Vibes also on Main got to reap in some of that benefit so it all worked out!
Afterward I stopped at
Hesed Cafe where lately I've been trying out the muffins along with my usual fair trade organic coffee, as she often puts a muffin tin with her latest creations on the counter where they can be seen and inhaled. They looked interesting this day so I took one, and, by the second bite, I was Mmmmming nonstop. I was so impressed I felt compelled to tell the Asian born owner as such. Funny I've never known her name, but they are all always nice to me. She smiled a thank-you. But I meant it - the banana-blueberry muffins were the best I've ever had in any muffin! Moist, delicious fruit, bursting in the mouth, it was just fantastic!
Do yourself a Flavour!
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| Newmarket's longest running family business, Myers ( Costumes) On Main, hosted Youth Wall Art Contest |
I made my way down to
Myer's On Main,
Newmarket's
oldest one family owned business - as I'd heard the long time owner was not feeling well. Her family business used to supply Newmarket residents during the war with food and candy rations, as people would line up down the street payday to pay back. It wasn't unusual for them to be aroused at 3 or 4 in the morning to fetch milk for an expectant mother. Adjusting with the times, the once
famous Opera Singer, Jenny Myers, switched it to strictly costumes somewhere around the 80's. Now we hassle them for graffiti removal that the woman has no control over and allow temporary competitors to spring up all around her during Halloween their busiest time. I think town founders and builders should get some kind of consideration, after all, she was here long before most every politician that's come and gone and she's still surviving. Manager Cassandra says all is well with the feisty owner and to
watch for a fun, spooky Halloween soiree there for 2014! Boo! Ha.
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| Iconic Town Clock |
Although the restaurants Main St. Newmarket offers up are a great variety - from fast food to ethnic to fine - the one element still lacking is
night time action.
There have been sporadic spurts of dance type formats and live entertainment events but nothing consistent has emerged save the
"Books Cafe n Things'' with ground level entertainment and, if you're lucky enough, a street musician will be out somewhere, often talented and eager and, like the locals, friendly!
Main St. sometimes hosts special events right on the street as well such as
live movie shoots like
Regression and
Carrie, also
July 1 celebrations, and for
Car Shows ,
festivals or
road hockey events, but, even then, the stores, shops, and restaurants are all open for business!
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| Main St. Locals are very friendly! |
Well, off to beautiful nearby Fairy Lake Park!
Enjoy Main St and have a good one!
TP Out!
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| Canadian Water For Sale...Cheap! |
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| Longtime Clothiers | | | | | |
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| Main St Cafe bulletin boards keep you informed | | | | |
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| Coming soon..back door businesses!? |
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Award winning Cartoonist has comic Store here!
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