An escape room, gourmet doughnut bakery and a shop specializing in handmade furniture might have sounded like unusual business ideas to the casual observer a decade ago.
But the likes of Escape Manor, SuzyQ Doughnuts, Maker House and others have all grown into runaway success stories after getting their start in Wellington West – a commercial area spanning the Hintonburg and Wellington Village neighbourhoods that has a long history as a proving ground for new retail formats and innovative consumer offerings.
For entrepreneur Gareth Davies, Hintonburg was the perfect fit for his hand-crafted homeware goods store Maker House, which he launched as a pop-up store on Wellington Street West in 2015. After receiving a flood of interest and positive feedback from customers, he knew the business was there to stay.