Samantha Rickford has become a connoisseur of craft brewing.
With more than 1,700 craft beers tried, the Markham and Sutton native has plenty of passion for different beers across the province and the world.
When an opportunity to open a bar emerged on Main Street in Newmarket, she decided to take the plunge.
“I’ve been a craft brew enthusiast since I started drinking,” she said. “I’ve always been looking for a place north of Toronto to open a craft beer bar.”
The Sticks Craft Beer Bar, at 13 Main St. South near Davis Drive, offers seven craft beers on tap and several pub food items.
Rickford aims to provide a place where people can try a new brew.
She became interested in craft beers when she started drinking at 19, trying many different kinds in any of her travels in Canada and tracking it on the social media drinking platform Untapped.
She said she hopes to encourage others to give more craft beers a try.
“There’s always going to be something new, especially with craft beer,” she said. “They don’t really come out with the same thing over and over again. It's always new and exciting.”
The developmental support worker is leading a busy life, keeping her day job at Sutton High School working with special needs kids. She said she has a passion for the occupation and started out working in group homes, which she said was a big improvement in her life.
“I was working an office job and I would just come home sick every day … I would just feel sick all a time,” she said. “Working in a group home, I just took to it so well and I didn’t feel sick anymore. … That sort of field really agrees with me. Just helping people.”
Owning her first business, she said it took a lot of work getting the place ready for operation. But with things up and running, Rickford said they want to offer a different vibe than larger bars.
“We definitely want more conversations, more intimate, cosy, and we just want to provide good beer,” she said. “We’ve got a pretty small menu. We try to keep it simple pub food.”
Over time, she said she hopes to expand the offerings, with more beers on tap, as well as a bottle and can shop to offer more of the brews she has learned about in her travels.
“We’re just a tiny bar trying to create good experiences,” she said. “I just want people to experience as many beers as they can experience.”
The bar is open Wednesday through Saturday in the evening, opening at 5 p.m. It is also open from 4 to 9 p.m. on Sunday.
