Walking Walkerville

Sunny autumn day. Breezy, cool, but not bitter. Perfect weather for a stroll in Walkerville.

Lucky for me, our Marcel Pronovost launch is approaching (November 20th, Walkerville Brewery, in case you were wondering), and that means we need to promote. I grabbed a stack of posters and headed out the door onto Wyandotte Street to stop by a few local businesses.

When I started working for Biblioasis, I knew the press was moving back to Windsor and that the bookstore would be opening in Walkerville. For my first two months of work, however, I made the trek out to our old Emeryville location. Perhaps I'd never woken up quite so early before, or perhaps I'd never had to drive east at 7:30am, but I was daily surprised by how unpleasant driving in morning traffic toward the blinding sunrise really is.

Remember this?

Needless to say, I was excited for the move and the extra half hour in bed, although my excitement couldn't compare to Chris and Tara's (especially Tara's), as they'd been hearing the plans and dreaming about the day for months.

A couple boxes left but we're getting there.

After the initial haul, and some extensive (and not quite complete) unpacking, we're now pretty settled in the new offices. And despite the fact that while working at the back of the store we could be in any neighbourhood, I've really come to appreciate our Walkerville surroundings.

Not only does the community bring in lots of curious foot traffic (and this is still two weeks before our grand opening!), it's just a nice feeling to be in the midst of so many varied and wonderful independent businesses.







Stepping out the front door, we're surrounded by restaurants, pubs, vintage stores, antique shops, salons, yoga studios, etc., etc., and the support these businesses give to each other is fantastic. So many shops were willing to take our posters that I ran out of my first batch in only fifteen minutes.

Good afternoon Walkerville.

Books moving from boxes to shelves. See the end result, November 16th!

I'm so glad to work in this neighbourhood, where you can grab spinach pies next door for lunch, or a last-minute gift for a friend down the road after work. Local musicians stop in with their flyers. There's all sorts of activity in the buildings next door as new businesses start moving in. I can bike to work on a nice day (although this past week hasn't exactly provided many opportunities) and meet up with someone for dinner around the corner afterwards.

Walkerville, thanks for being awesome. We're happy to be your new neighbour.

Come visit during our grand opening, November 16th (full details TBA). This is also the date of the Walkerville Holiday Walk (how convenient!) where you can explore the businesses of Walkerville, win prizes, and get a start on your holiday shopping while buying local! What more can you want?

See you then.

Hint, hint. Come to our grand opening!