'Great to see it alive again'; Fire Hall Market in Port Stanley opens with successful weekend
From tourists to residents, those visiting the new Fire Hall Market in Port Stanley, Ont. described opening weekend as "bringing new life into the village."
Five months after two couples purchased the former Central Elgin Fire Hall, the food and beverage market opened for business on Canada Day weekend.
The local owners transformed the two parking bays for fire engines into a vibrant artisan market.
"It’s great to see it come alive again," says Brenda Arnold, a Port Stanley resident who visited the market twice in the first three days.
"I came to check it out, and left with strawberry rhubarb scones, and some jalapeno cheese bread," says Janet McKay.
On February 1, 2022, Dale and Angela Homewood, along with Gerry Hensels and Lorraine McElroy bought the fire hall, with plans for a market, and a luxury apartment at the back of the hall.
"We had we had a good shell of a building," says Angela Homewood, the project manager for the redevelopment.
"We had some infrastructure requirements that we needed to meet upgrading. The gas, the water, the sewer, and storm water. Literally everything and adding some structural support beams to open it up more. We also had to get rid of the dispatch area of the old fire station and moved the bathrooms into the back to make them wheelchair accessible."
There are ten vendors, including four who are first time businesses.
"Everyone seems very happy to have a butcher in town, because I guess there has not been one in quite some time," says Caleb Fothergill, 24, a first-time business owner from Meaford, Ont.
"I’ve been in the industry and I loved it. I knew I wanted to have my own shop and when we heard about the market here, it was just a dream come true."
Fothergill has Fire Hall Fine Meats, and the reception was massive over the first few days.
He sold out of his Tomahawk steaks and Ribeye steaks, and joked he’ll need more each day going forward.
"I’m going to have a good BBQ tonight," says local resident Erwin Kohl, who says he would normally have to go to St. Thomas or London to get local cuts of that quality.
At the front of the market, there was a steady lineup waiting to purchase fresh bread. The demand was a pleasant surprise for first-time entrepreneur Miram Kleinsasser.
"I started working at a bakery, back home when I was 17 years old," says Kleinsasser, 39, of Port Stanley who is using family recipes for her multi-grain bread.
"Throughout my life, I've always baked my own bread. A family member and I used to joke around that we wanted to start our own bakery. So here I am. She's doing her own thing, and here I am starting a bakery."
Giving new start-ups was exactly what the owners were looking for when they started looking for businesses to fill their market.
"People we’ve talked to are so excited that we are just bringing back the businesses that we've missed and haven't had here in Port for so long," says Homewood.
CTV News got a tour of the luxury apartment above the market which is expected to be complete with the next couple months.
Hensels who has 40 years of construction experience is doing the renovation which will include two bedrooms, an open concept kitchen/living space and a rooftop patio.
The market is open seven days a week, from 10am to 5pm.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.