What is it with Toronto and old warehouse and manufacturing districts: Distillery, Geary Lane, and the list continues with the up-and-coming Bermondsey neighbourhood. Yes, you know, the one with that Peak Freans cookie factory and outlet that always smells so good.
Classics and Creatives
This wonderfully offbeat little industrial pocket is tucked between the Don Valley and O’Connor with Eglinton Avenue to the north that’s becoming one of the city’s most unexpectedly rewarding afternoons out.
Start your day with coffee and a treat at Circles & Squares Bakery Cafe, a creative hub and café space that attracts the neighbourhood’s artists and designers alongside local parents shuffling their kids off to gymnastics lessons.
Mosy over to the remarkable Sandra Ainsley Gallery, one of the most respected contemporary glass art galleries in the country, tucked into an unassuming industrial building converted to house a 6,000-square-foot gallery space with a 22-foot ceiling. The gallery is home to a number of notable artists, none bigger than Dale Chihuly.
A few minutes away, Roarockit Skateboard Company offers a completely different kind of artisanship. The long-running Toronto company manufactures handcrafted skateboards and even teaches people how to press and build their own decks. The smell of fresh-cut wood alone is worth the stop.
Nearby, you’ll find one of the city’s more unexpected retail experiences: Surf Ontario, a surf shop improbably located far from any ocean but fully committed to the lifestyle. The shop has become a cult favourite for surfers heading to the Great Lakes, carrying boards, wetsuits and enough coastal energy to briefly convince you Lake Ontario has tides.
Then lean fully into Bermondsey’s weird-and-wonderful energy with a stop at the legendary Peek Freans Cookie Outlet.
And, like any good industrial area–cum–hipster enclave, Bermondsey has its own craft brewery in a converted warehouse. Goldenfield Brewery opened up shop in 2023 and has some quality suds and a very cool taproom to unwind in following an afternoon of exploring the ’hood.
If shopping is on the agenda, design lovers should carve out time for Tonic Living, which has a huge showroom featuring fabrics, custom furniture and home decor.
Need some air? One of Bermondsey’s best features is the nearby access points to the East Don Trail opening into kilometres of surprisingly peaceful ravine trails. Or get a sweat on at the Toronto Climbing Academy.