While the hustle bustle is slowly returning to downtown Newmarket as Ontario reopens, in many ways Main Street is a different place than it was before COVID-19 hit in March 2020.
For lease and for sale signs are plastered on some empty store windows where businesses once thrived, however, new stores have come on the scene, too.
Aubergine restaurant closed its doors in September 2020, however, La Gabbia Grill & Bar opened in the space shortly afterwards, while Old Flame Brewing Co. opened after extensive renovation of the old fire hall at 140 Main.
The empty storefront at 225 Main that was the former Running Free — it closed at the end of 2019 — is now Coco’s Nails and Spa, which opened in February 2020 only to face a series of pandemic lockdowns.
Next door at 223 Main, The Maid’s Cottage thrived with takeout for their food and renowned butter tarts during the pandemic, so much so, the owners decided not to reopen their indoor dining room after 23 years.
“After a very challenging year and much thought, we have decided to not reopen our DINE IN area in the future,” they announced online, while reassuring customers this didn’t mean they were closing.
“Don’t worry, we’re not going anywhere. We will continue to offer you our delicious prepared homemade meals, breakfast and lunch items for takeout and of course our butter tarts, our pride and joy, will be available.”
The Maid’s Cottage isn’t the only outlet that made a successful pandemic pivot.
Last August, the Unwind Yarn House downsized and moved around the corner.
“I was always planning to reduce our costs, so it was more about just making more effective use out of a smaller space,” owner Karen Henderson said.
Her former location at 232 Main was taken over by Georgette Dunn, a permanent makeup artist, while Unwind is now one door west at 476 Timothy St.
Throughout the pandemic the store has been finding creative ways to stay afloat, offering virtual “stitch socials”, video tours to help customers shop and, of course, curbside pickup.
They also tried offering virtual classes, however, Henderson said, “It is hard, you can’t really correct somebody’s hands.”
The pandemic wasn’t what actually prompted the downsizing, she said, adding they took advantage of being closed to make the move — though she did have to reassure some concerned customers about the change.
“Our core customers were concerned about us surviving, especially once we downsized,” Henderson said.
Her main concern wasn’t for her business but for the community as a whole, she said.
“It was hard to see Main Street so quiet for such a long time,” she said. “I knew we were OK, but it wasn’t always clear that my colleagues on Main Street would be OK.”
Other business owners also found new opportunities.
Dia Traikos, a young entrepreneur and owner of Main Ideas, a pottery painting studio that opened in 2019 at 245 Main.
“I’ve only been open for about 2-1/2 years and the majority of that time has been COVID,” she said.
During the first lockdown, she put together to-go painting kits but said with the most recent lockdowns, people were more comfortable at home and business died down again, meaning she had to find another way to pivot.
After spending a lot of the time working with the Town of Newmarket on what could be feasible, Traikos opened up an outdoor painting patio in front of her store.
“It was nice because you could get that sense of energy back but it took a lot for me to get the patio set up the way that I wanted because I’m not a restaurant,” she said, adding that she had to advocate for her space.
However, she got the green light from the town, and with the help of her neighbour Intact Insurance letting her expand into their sidewalk space, Traikos was permitted to set up three tables for people to come and paint while staying safe outside.
It was "exactly what I needed, I just needed something to get by and they were able to do that for me,” she said.
Since the province moved into the next reopening stage last month, Traikos has been welcoming customers back into the studio with COVID-19 measures in place, but she plans to make the patio a permanent fixture and hopes it can be even bigger next year.
“That was probably the only good thing that came out of the pandemic,” she said. “I have my own little pottery painting patio now!”
However, she knows other businesses haven’t been as lucky.
“The people that haven’t made it, my heart hurts for them,” Traikos said. “If one of us doesn’t succeed, it’s a terrible thing because it’s not a huge corporation going down, it’s a family. It’s a mother, it’s a daughter, it’s a son. It’s not something to be taken lightly.”
While she acknowledged the challenge her business faced to survive during the pandemic lockdowns, she said her customers and fellow business owners have helped her to keep spirits high throughout.
“Most of the stores down here are staples in the community, so we had a lot of support from the community, people coming by, just to see how we’re doing,” she said. “I love Newmarket because the sense of community is so strong with not only the guests that visit us but the neighbours, we always check in on each other and see how we’re doing, it’s amazing.”
Ontario is now in step 3 of the provincial reopening plan meaning stores are open with capacity limits, personal care services are allowed again, and indoor fitness as well as indoor dining is now permitted across the province.
