For those who have lived in Barrie for years, seeing businesses come and go is nothing new.
Unfortunately, neither is seeing a vacant storefront sit empty for months, sometimes even years.
So when we see construction for new businesses being done along Bayfield Street, or work being done on the exterior of places like Bayfield Mall and Wellington Plaza, it tends to pique the curiosity of many. Rumours begin to fly as to what's happening.
My boss recently sent me photos of scaffolding set up outside of the former Uncle Bob’s Country Buffet in the Wellington Street plaza, which had closed its doors to customers back in 2019. It has sat empty ever since, but with work seemingly being done both inside and out, it appears that's going to soon change as a new tenant takes over the space.
A recent Facebook post had people guessing as to what would be moving in there, and reminiscing about the different businesses that used to call the plaza — located just off Anne Street and facing Highway 400 — home.
Wishful thinking included pining for the return of Bandito Video or a Blockbuster, the addition of arts and craft store Michaels to the north end of the city, or yet another cannabis dispensary.
Others were hoping for a Chipotle, a Cheesecake Factory and even an IKEA to move in.
Another poster said the restaurant/bar is set to be a One Eyed Jack pub, a franchise which has locations in Oshawa, Lindsay, Peterborough, Uxbridge, Kingston and Toronto. However, a quick look on the restaurant’s website didn’t show any 'Coming Soon to Barrie' posts.
Kevin Jacquemain, co-owner of Rivendell Books, which is located in the southwest corner of Wellington Plaza, told me that rumour among existing tenants is that a new pub will be taking over the space. However, what the name of the pub, or even when it’s expected to open to the public, is still unknown.
But any new business is likely to help those that are still around, he said, as it will bring more people into the plaza, who will then hopefully see what else it has to offer and will then pop in to check them out.
Filling the vacancies in the plaza as soon as possible can only be a positive impact for everyone else in the plaza, Jacquemain acknowledged, even though he was unsure how a bar would impact a bookstore.
Despite numerous attempts to get to the bottom of things — including an email to One Eyed Jack Restaurant and Bar head office, the response to which confirmed the franchise was "excited and looking forward to joining the Barrie community" — I wasn’t able to get official confirmation as to what will be moving into the space, or when. Sounds positive, in general, for Barrie, but without many of the specifics.
Whatever it turns out to be will definitely be better than a vacant storefront.
As for what I would like to see in the space, I would have to echo the person online begging for an IKEA in Barrie, but I definitely won’t be holding my breath on that one and will be keeping my pile of allen keys stored away in a drawer unless I hear otherwise.
Nikki Cole is a reporter at BarrieToday.
