Catch your break in Elora
One of the prettiest places to visit at any time of the year is the lovely village of Elora (population 7,000) on the Grand River, about a two-hour drive from Niagara.
During the Christmas holidays it seems even more special. No big box stores, supermarkets, malls or Timmies. The pace is slow. It’s almost impossible to be in a hurry here.
The village, founded in 1832, has plenty of 19th-century limestone architecture filled with small artistic shops. When you walk the streets of Mill, Geddes and Metcalfe you’ll have the feeling of time travelling. Many of the downtown buildings, built between 1840 and 1850 by Scottish stone masons, were constructed from the area’s natural limestone. About 35 shops, eight restaurants and a dozen or so small inns and B and B’s have found new homes in these buildings.
Two shops on Mill Street that interested my wife Ellen were Honeychurch Lane and Epiphany.
Honeychurch Lane is one of the newest additions to the shopping district. Located in what at one time was a blacksmiths shop it’s not your average antique store. In addition to antiques you’ll find giftware made by local artists, all handmade and repurposed with a vintage flare. It’s a treasure trove of upcycled painted furniture, velvet upholstery and vintage glassware and more.
Epiphany can be described as an old world boutique with ele- gant affordable clothing. There’s lots of special event dresses, fashion jewelry, accessories such as scarfs and hats, cards, books, handmade Christmas crackers, and I even spotted magnifying glasses. There now in the glove compartment of my car.
While Ellen continued her shopping I took a walk up Metcalfe Street where the aroma of freshly baked bread drew me into the Elora Bread Trading Co. Co-owner Sonia Cheng told me, “We’re a small scale artisan bakery which specializes in the traditional methods of making bread. All our breads are handcrafted from start to finish.” Try a sample one of her sour dough breads and you’ll be taking a few loaves home.
Ellen caught up and we decided to have lunch at one of our favourite restaurants, The Desert Rose Cafe. Carnivores will want to stay clear of this place.
Chef Resa Lent (she’s also the owner) has been offering up homemade vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free meals (long before it was in fashion) for 37 years. Everything’s delicious.
For our evening dinner we made reservations at one of Elora’s hottest new microbrewery and eatery The Elora Brewing Co. at 107 Geddes St. When we visited that evening, Matthew Lawson, one of the five owners, told me, “It all came about as a result of our love of craft beer. It took close to a year to renovate this beautiful historic 1880s limestone building, once a former hardware store, into the brewery and gastropub.”
The night we visited it was packed. One diner originally from Toronto now living in Elora told me, “It’s like one of Toronto’s great restaurants found right here in tiny Elora.”
We agreed.