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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2000-12-27, Page 5THE HURON EXPOSITOR, Deco" Aube 27, 2000-5 New businesses keeping Main Street full By Susan Hundsrtmaik • Expositor Staff The past year has seen more growth in Seaforth and on Main Street as storefronts continue to remain full and a second hed and hreakfast provides more accommodation in a motel -free town. Bed and breakfast opens Marcia and Fred Leitch, who opened Seaforth's second hed and breakfast in June, had no plans to go into the B and B business before falling in love with Paul and Mary Carroll's old house on Goderich St. ''My husband's golfed up here a lot and one weekend, we saw the house and just had to have it," says Marcia. "As soon as we went through the house, we realized it' would he perfect for a bed and breakfast it had so much charm and * potential." The Leitches have moved from Caledon and Fred still commutes to Hamilton to his law office. Named Ewens Hall after Marcia's maiden name and Fred's father's middle name, the bed and breakfast has been very busy so far. It offers three bedrooms, two with queen -sized keds and one with antique twin spool beds and two big new washrooms. Built in 1874, the house was completely redecorated by the Leitches, who also. installed a pond with waterfall and dug flower gardens in the backyard Marcia says she's planning to offer golf and theatre packages in the future. "This is a' brand new venture for us and we went into it cold turkey. We did no research and had no idea that Seaforth needed bed and breakfasts. I've always been interested . in running a B and B but never been in a position to do it before. It just worked out for us," says Marcia. "We're meeting lots of interesting and friendly people: It really is fun," she says. Massage Therapy Meanwhile. massage therapist Becky Campbell has been operating for about the past year out of the Home and Hearth bed and breakfast. A 1997 graduate of the Canadian College of Massage and Hydrotherapy, first opened a clinic in Blyth before moving to the bed and breakfast to be in Seaforth, her home town. "I'm very interested in science and health," said Campbell, but after volunteering at Seaforth Community Hospital, she knew she didn't want to get into nursing and found massage therapy a more interesting pursuit of working in health. She believes in the body's ability to heal itself and -said massage therapy provides emotional. physical and psychological benefits. While there's a professional atmosphere and service around Campbell, she said Home and Hearth also provides a relaxing setting and people can feel welcome to come in off the street. She likes the Goderich Street setting, away from the more hectic core. She said a hectic setting can be counterproductive to message therapy. She is trained to treat specific types of injuries and conditions through massage and said there is a misconception that it hurts. 'Massages can either he for relaxation or more aggressive to treat a specific injury, working to penetrate to certain muscles or nerves. She provides her services to everyone from children to seniors and said massage therapy is recognized by a number of health care plans now. She can also go beyond massages to look at the person's workplace situation to try and find what is causing the person's discomfort so it can be eliminated. She suggests people who are pregnant or suffer from headaches from tension or migraines can benefit from massages -and also said it's good for arthritis. She can he reached at 527-2058 for an appointment. Pages bookshop opens . Because she hates drivingso far to buy a book, Jessica Barker decided to open Pages, a book store, on Main St. in Seaforth. "I've been in the area for 11 years and I love to read but you have to drive to London or Stratford to find a good selection of books. I think we need a good bookstore in town," says Barker. Sharing space with The Hobhy Shop, Barker hopes tri till her store with at least 100 titles of books for all ages and interests. And, on top of -that, she plans to be making daily orders to publishers for books customers want that she doesn't have room to store on her shelves. "I'm in the process of getting accounts in place with suppliers for hook orders." she says. Barker is asking customers to' fill. out a survey at the store to let her know what ,sorts of books local readers will want. She hopes to .draw customers from Seaforth, Mitchell, Clinton, Blyth and Hensall. She also plans to set up a gift registry so that readers can send family and friends into the store to choose from a list of books they'd most like to receive as gifts. Thatz Kidz Stuff Consignment clothes, toys, furniture and any other equipment needed for babies and children can be found at Thatz Kidz Stuff, which opened on Main St. in Seaforth : in- May by - Tracey Eckert. "I wanted to do something .with kids," says Eckert of her decision to open the store. • Along with used clothing from 12 months up to chldren's size 12, Eck ert rents space to several companies that cater to children such as Heads and Tails, 3Rs Educational Store and Renee Dupuis's children's furniture. Commercial Hotel New owners Brian Simpson and Ayrikah Benedetti are planning a "major overhaul" of the Commerical Hotel, including live entertainment every Friday. a sports bar 'called Slapshots and a kitchen with a full menu. The owner of a restaurant in Tobermory for three years, Simpson says the kitchen will offer roadhouse fare, similar to that found at restaurants such as East Side Marius or Jack Astors and be open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m-. every day with a more limited bar Menu offered until 1 a.m. He says it's. been three years since the kitchen at the Commet'cial Hotel has been open for business. The bar and restaurant are being renovated and redecorated:and Simpson is lining up bands, comedians and hypnotists to entertain Friday nights. . Simpson also hopes to buy the entire hotel building from current owner Jason Wheatley. "I want to promote that it's over 100 years old," he says. The 33 -room hotel, under Simpson's plans, will he renovated to offer 28 rooms. with some walls being removed to make the rooms more spacious. Washrooms will be shared facilities. "Except for a couple of bed and breakfasts, there's no overnight accommodation in this town and people going to hockey tournaments and funerals need some place to stay," says Simpson. His plans to offer hotel rooms won't be completed for a year, he says. Tulips Dental Centre Dentists Gerald Hany and Elizabeth Van Maanen are moving their practice Tulips Dental Centre from Franklin St. to Main St.. Seatorth. "The new office will he a little larger and little more accessible, especially for wheelchairs. We need a Nigger facility because we've outgrown what we have," says Hany. The new dental office will be located in the old Kids Klose store and offer general dental services. John Bakker, of Seaforth, hopes to turn a hobby into a profitable business, with his new store Johnny B's Farm Market, opening soon on Main Street. After selling Ontario fruits and vegetables at several local farm markets, including Goderich and Listowel, over the. past year and offering a vegetable stand on Goderich St. two summers ago, Bakker has decided to try opening a store. "We tried the stand to test the vegetable waters and we found you have to • f i nd the right location." he says. Bakker says a local survey has indicated that. people are interested in shopping at a produce store. "Our projections say we should be able- to make a living at it," he says. Ontario produce, some of it from places like F.'+ 'er Produce and Sur hydroponics plant will be sold a 1 dairy products ,l) Seaforth's Quality Jersey Products, Winthrop Maple Syrup and Wee Willy Baking. As well Susan's Sewing and Craft Classes will operate out of the new store. "As much as possible, we'll be offering produce from local farmers but sometimes in the winter, I'll have to get it from the United States," he says. Future plans include renting a few acres locally and growing some of his own produce and building a greenhouse and growing tomatoes and peppers with hydroponics. "A lot of growing is done with hydroponics now since 60 OFF Christmas Line you can provide for a longer period of time and don't have to worry about the weather," he says. With files from Scott Hilgendorff i McMaster Siemon 26g. INSURANCE AUX BROKERS INC. •AUTu., .1 -RAVEL 'COMMERCIAL •L!FE !NSURANCE BROKERS: BiII Siemon Vicki Siemon Anette McTaggart Ken Hutchison Paul Wettlaufer Joanne Tyndall Ontario Rd. 348-9150 Mitchell 1.800-561-0183 SEAFORTH VETERINARY CLINIC • NOTICE TO CLIENTS HOLIDAY OFFICE HOURS OPEN Dec. 30- S a.m. to 12 noon Dec. 31 & Jan. 1 -CLOSED In Case of Emergency Call 519-527-1760 Have a Happy New Year STARTS WEDNESDAY, DEC. 27 UP TO We would like to take this opportunity to thank you for Wishing; your Patronage. u a very Happy New Year FASHIONS Main St., SEAFORTH - 527-0278 zfei*-0 6%).-40 g a BABIES Commemorate the newest family member., Join The Huron Expositor's "Babies on Parade" A Photo Display of Babies born in 2000 Published Wed. Jan. 3, 2001 Send or bring a picture of your little one born in 2000, including full name, birth date and parents' names, to be featured in The Huron Expositor's "Babies on Parade" on January 3, 2001 for only $15.00 (GST included). Please send picture (with name on back) along with a cheque to The Huron Expositor, P.O. Box 69, Seaforth, Ont., NOK 1WO by 2:00 p.m., Thurs., Dec. 28th: Photos may be picked up after January 3. This must be pre -paid. SAMPLE Please Complete Baby's Full Name Birth Date Parents' Names $15.00 Enclosed NAME OF BABY DATE OF BIRTH PARENTS '�� DEADLINE -DECEMBER 28th, 12:00 Noon The Huron Expositor 527-0240 11 Main St., Seaforth 0 1111