Every year we celebrate the opening of new restaurants, services and retail shops, and this year was no different. Ossington is growing richer and more vibrant as we watch, and people from downtown and across the city are enjoying everything it offers.
A welcome addition in 2013 was Pedal Stop Bicycle shop, a much needed resource for our cycle friendly neighbourhood. The shop replaced an art gallery at 127 Ossington just in time for summer, and sells bicycles and bicycle accessories, as well as replacing parts and doing tun-ups and fixes.
New restaurant openings this year included Ardor Bistro, a Peruvian bistro serving piscos at 59 Ossington Avenue, Soos, which offers delicious Malaysian snacks and entrees at 94 Ossington. Early in the year, Bazara Sushi became the street’s first sushi restaurant when it opened at 188 Ossington. More recently, Malaysian cuisine joined the growing options on Ossington when Soos opened in October. The latest addition to Ossington is La Porte, which has taken over the space at 214 Ossington.
After a soft sneak preview before Christmas, Cote de Boeuf became everybody’s go-to butcher and sandwich maker when it officially launched in March.
Bellwoods officially opened it’s retail brew store in January, and now sells craft beer and merchandise daily.
Adding further proof to Ossington’s rise as a fashion hotspot, the European brand Tiger of Sweden opened an outpost on Ossington in March. This was swiftly followed by Annie Aime‘s move from Yorkville to 40 Ossington last spring, selling original and beautiful European clothing, with a lovely sense of French style.
In July, Crywolf Clothing, with some help from fans online, opened a retail store selling their whimsical and adorable t-shirts, prints, jewelry, and more, including some Rob Ford themed merchandise. They are open at 91 Ossington.
Another fashion retailer, Pop Up 120, which will change designers every few months, took over the space at 120 Ossington last summer, and this fall, Lost and Found, a mostly men’s clothing store, moved from Dundas to 44 Ossington Avenue.
On top of all that, Hero Heroine, a full service unisex salon, opened in the spring at 216 Ossington.
Those are all the new spots that opened on our part of Ossington this year. If you haven’t tried them, this is a reminder to get out there.
Still not a single grocery store.
A certain group of neighbourhood residents spent a lot of time this past year
ensuring that developers would not have enough space to allow someone to
come in with a grocery store. We did get Cote de Boeuf and, although it’s not really a grocery store the Dollarama opened on Dundas.
I am very disappointed in my neighbours if they indeed are the ones that ensured a grocery store could not open on Ossington. While I really enjoy eating at some of the restaurants on Oz, I am thoroughly bored by the Little Williamsburg feel to a lot of the establishments here in the West end. I wonder when the decorators will run out of salvaged wood and vintage furniture. Cote de Boeuf is not a grocery store and the Dollarama certainly does not ‘make’ the neighbourhood. There might be one corner store on Oz between Queen and Bloor where you can find an onion. Thank goodness for Kensington Market, it’s still a real neighbourhood.