Shopping

Shopping in downtown Orillia ranges from small and exclusive boutiques, to Art Galleries, shoe and clothing shops, and even a resident dollar store. The pace downtown is leisurely, with it's attention to heritage design the sidwalks are paved with stone, the lamp posts are a vintage style iron with hanging baskets, and the shops carry signs and storefronts in keeping with that old-time, down home feeling. Shop owners are usually found in their shops, working with staff and speaking with customers, and for the most part, customer service is a top priority for these smaller shops.

Because these downtown stores have contents that cater to unique niches and don't carry "everything in one place", they work hard at satisfying their customers...at least that's been my experience with most of the downtown shops I frequent. The owners spend time getting to know their customers because they depend on the repeat business, and on those customers to recommend their shops to friends and family. And this type of business works in a downtown shopping district like that found in Orillia.

Most of us shop for some things at the local "big box" stores like Walmart, Zellers, Canadian Tire, FutureShop, Staples, and other similar stores, but these are separated at different corners of the city, and provide basic functional items. Downtown provides a uniqueness in product and service that you aren't going to find at "big box convenience" stores.

The specialty shops like Mariposa with it's grouping of Mariposa Market, The Scent Shop and the Seasons store create a presence downtown, while carrying unique gift items, or in the case of the market, providing home-baked goods (yummy), catering services, and an eat-in coffee shop. The clothing stores carry items you won't find at Walmart - brands and designer clothing, retro styles and modern chic, but these all come at a price higher than the average Walmart or Zellers brands.

While you can find some stunning clothing at shops likes Just Elaine's, Kahuna Surf Shop, Bak2Basics (CC Pant) and Estello, many shoppers can't afford those prices on a regular basis. The quality of most of these clothes is excellent, and some of the styles are timeless, stretching across many years - that awesome little black dress will look as terrific 5 years from now as the day you bought it, because the design and quality ensures that it will. That's a great reason to buy the basic wardrobe pieces in specialty shops.

There are a couple of shops on the main street where you can by used clothing and accessories, and some are better than others. In the Heritage Place Shopping Center you'll find "Green Again". Their sales go to support Greenhaven Shelter for Women, so a lot of women will shop here. The downside to Green Again is their pricing - in some cases even more than the prices you'll find in "Goodwill" (pricey enough for many things and not located on the main shopping street) or The Salvation Army Thrift Shop (the least expensive in town - but not located on the main drag) and the quality is often in the median range, and styles can be...old and out of date. The two remaining shops are a little more fun. Plum Loco and Closet Jems.

Plum Loco is unique because it has a good mix of new products at low prices, including many brand names, and a section that caters to vintage and retro clothing styles - all in good shape. This shop carries basic pieces like jeans and jackets, and some fun and wacky things you won't find in too many other places. The atmosphere is relaxed, and the staff is helpful and it's just a neat place to spend a little time. The shopping crowd here ranges from the younger set to the not so young, but just as hip. About the only things you won't find at Plum Loco are grandma's dresses.

Closet Jems is brand new - and more than just a clothing shop. It's a consignment store with an eye to better brands and quality, and clothes put on display are current styles, and also carries shoes and accessories. They are also hoping to build up a section of retro and vintage clothing in good quality since many people are turning towards the retro look, and some modern styles are mimicing the old styles. After all, Jackie-O was one of the classiest women from the sixties to the eighties, and her clothing style was similar through all those eras. And who wouldn't want to be as classy as that?  The floor space in Closet Jems is generous and the shop is laid out to retain a spacious feeling. With it's hanging racks of clean clothes in good shape, it feels like it's going to be a success. I hope so - while Orillia does have it's fair share of second hand roses, most of them aren't that "rosy", and Closet Jems is pretty much the ONLY consignment shop around. This one has a personal touch provided by the owner (Theresa) who is friendly and will spend time answering your questions or providing help. There are clean change rooms to try on items and a general atmosphere of comfort about the shop. If any of you locals haven't been there yet, get on down and have a look. As their stock grows, this will be a good place for mom's to get their kids outfitted for school with extra pieces. Visitors coming to town should check it out too - you never know what gem you might find here with stock coming in and go out on a daily basis.

Another new shop we really like is an antique market-type store where the various sections are rented by antiques dealers. The shop is called Carousel Collectibles (do take time to visit their website) and is run by the inimitable Lorne VanSinclair and his wife Mary, and the very friendly staff and dealers who happen to be on hand at the time. There are two floors to investigate here, the larger space being on the main floor, but little rooms of adventure wait upstairs for those who can manage the staircase. We've visited this new shop fairly frequently already, and we've made some good purchases here too. I love the booth that carries period costume jewelry and vintage pieces - so far I've purchased a pair of gold and natural garnet earings ($35), a pair of gold drop earings ($10) and a wonderful pair of earrings I thought were costume jewelry (another gold drop earring) for $5 that turned out to be 14 kt. gold. I also purchased a pair of earrings for $5 that aren't gold (gold filled) with a small chain drop and ivory carved ball at the end of the chain. Except for the garnets which were studs, the others all have the heavier shepherd's hook posts that close tightly on the back, which I really like and often aren't found except on more expensive earrings, and earrings of european design. My husband has already found a couple of booths in here that sell collectible toys (cars and trucks mostly) and collectible nascar items. He can spend a fair bit of time just admiring some of these, but he also has already made purchases.

The shop carries everything from soup to nuts: china, dishes, glassware from a variety of eras, women's and mens vintage accessories, furniture, paper collectibles, art, records, books and just about anything from the past. It's really a marvelous shop to wander around in. The staff will be happy to help with anything - very approachable and friendly, and by the time you walk out of the store, you'll feel like you've known them forever. Don't pass this one up.

Having spoken with the shop staff already, once the nice weather comes and the downtown streets look pretty, I'll be going back with my camera to take some exterior and interior photos to post up here for everyone.

On the lower section of Mississaga Street you'll come across a shop with a great large clock hanging out front. This is "Perfect Timing" and the owners here are also some of the friendliest you'll run into in downtown Orillia. The shop is large an spacious with an elegant but relaxed feeling and in the glass display cases you'll find all manner of watches and clocks. As well as sales, they handle repairs to clocks of all kinds, even old ones, so if you've got grandma's old clock just waiting for a place to be fixed, that's the place to go.

The owners of this shop are very active in the dowtown, and a very friendly and giving husband and wife team. You'll often see one of them out on the street during parades, and in colder months provide free hot chocolate to parade watchers. They have been involved in downtown festivities almost since they arrived in Orillia so if you happen to be "down that way" stop in and say hello.


Shopping Malls and Centers


Orillia Square Mall


The Big News for January 2012 at the Orillia Square Mall

(more here: this link)

A few things are happening this year at "the mall". One of the main mall anchors will be leaving the mall sometime between January and (we believe) the end of June 2012. This store has been in Orillia in one location or another since ... well, I believe the since the time Zellers opened it's doors. It's first location was downtown on the main street of Orillia (Mississaga St.) - it used to be where the indoor "Mini-mall" is that now houses Becker Shoes, Green Again and a few other shops. At some point after the mid 1970s, Zellers moved up to the plaza at the corner of Westmount and Coldwater where Zehrs and the Bank of Montreal now reside. It remained there until shortly after the K-Mart closed at the Orillia Square Mall, and then Zellers moved into that location.

The Zellers store has been bought out/taken over by Target, and sometime in the next year (or so we've been led to believe) will be entrenched in the location where Zellers is now located, so they will become the newest (and probably the largest) anchor store at the Orillia Square Mall.

Whether thist will bring more success to the mall is another story. In mid-January I was shopping at the mall and noticed a lot of shops with some "better than boxing-day" sales. The Blue Notes Jeans shop had everything marked down to $10 and under.  As it turns out, they were closing the shop at the Mall in Orillia. While Blue Notes is still going to be open in other locations, I guess Orillia won't have one any longer.

Bootlegger/Ricki's is running from the mall as well. From what I was told here, their lease was up and they weren't renewing it.

Both of those shops carried some of the best brands at the mall so it's also sad to see them gone, and I haven't yet heard any whisperings of new shops coming in, or noticed if others are closing down.

---- Feb. 03, 2012 ----
---- end of update ----

Although most of us locals still consider Orillia a "town", we do have some big-box stores, and some shopping malls and smaller plazas.

One of the longest-standing shopping malls is the Orillia Square Mall, located just at the end of town (Burnside Line), abutting  Severn Township, and is easily accessed from West Street, or Highway 11. The plaza stretches out over a large property and has plenty of parking and entrances/exits off Burnside Line.

The mall is anchored on either end by three main shops: a large Canadian Tire; Zellers, and Jason's No Frills at the opposite end. In between Zellers and No Frills, the interior of the mall houses about forty different shops, ranging from clothing, to jewelery to books. You'll find clothing for the younger set (PleaseMum, Bluenotes, Bootlegger, Rickis), for the men (Josephs) and women (TanJay, Dorlene's), and for everyone (Stitches, Northern Reflections, Zellers). The mall houses electronics (The Source), florists, jewelers, hair and nails salon, health food, accessories and lingerie (Ardene's, LaSenza), goodies like Laura Secord, and the food court.

As well, you'll find shops that handle engraving, taxes, health food, leather goods, mobile shops like Rogers and Bell, and vision care and optical products. Flanking the mall in separate stores (on the same property) you'll find a large a spacious dollar shop across from the Canadian Tire Location, and behind the No Frills is a large Staples (Office Products and Electronics).

For a complete listing of shops, store hours, directions or contact information for the mall, visit their website.

Westridge Shopping District and Walmart

February 2012 - UPDATE!

Late in 2012 a new construction began over at the "new" Walmart complex. The building is going up by the bike/walking path that leads into the Walmart Supercenter parking area. Our understanding is that this is going to be a new Staples. Right now (Feb 3, 2012), the building is up and the exterior "wrap" is in place so I can only guess that it may be opening sometime this spring.

--- end of update ---

November 2011 - UPDATE!

The Westridge Shopping plaza has a new store! In November a New Value Village has opened it's doors in the Westridge Plaza. It is located at the far end of the old (empty) Walmart building, very close to the Payless Shoe Store.  If you downloaded one of our Westridge maps, make sure you grab the new one, which has been amended to include the Value Village shop.

--- end of update ---

Along the western edge of Orillia is the Westridge Shopping district, and the large Walmart Supercenter. When the Westridge area started out, it began with a Walmart and a Home Depot, stretched apart from each other by some distance. In between those two monoliths a smaller plaza sprung up, housing a Payless Shoe Store, Marks Work Wear, Penningtons, Hallmark, a Bulk Barn and Sport Check. Since the very early days when Walmart was almost the lone occupant on this large chunk of land, a number of other large stores have taken up residence: the Food Basics Grocery Store, and Future Shop.

Two of my favourite shops are Reitman's and Bonnie Togs, at opposite ends of the age gap. Reitman's caters to women (younger, middle aged, older) but carries clothing in relaxed styles that last and wear well, but most important, are comfortable. Bonnie Togs caters to kids, from newborn sizes up to about size 12, and carries good quality brands like OshKosh and Woods for very affordable prices (watch for their sales!).

You'll also find some smaller concerns (dollar shop,  The Source, Pet Value, a variety, an optical shop, hair care) and some offices, a number of banks, and of course, a variety of eateries. Fast food like A and W and Subway, to eat-ins like Montanas and Boston Pizza. And, of course, another Tim Horton's. I guess no plaza or shopping mall is quite complete with a coffee shop.

The large Walmart store (the original) has been empty for some years. Walmart acquired land "across the highway" and built a larger store - a Walmart Supercenter with grocery section. Just recently, on the same piece of property a new larger dollar shop and a Winners store opened up so the march of commercialism seems to moving slowly into our countryside.

Below is a map of the Westridge area showing the locations and names of shops, and the Walmart. If you are a visitor to Orillia, you might want to save this and print it out before you visit so you can plan your shopping trip. (click to view larger image or download printable size)

NOTE: Shopping map updated November 2011 to include Value Village (in the old Walmart Store).