Top 5 Hipster Shopping Places in Oakville, Burlington, and Milton
Published August 30, 2017 at 11:47 pm
They’re drawn to Brant St. for obvious reasons but hipsters are now leaving coconut oil stains across Oakville, Burlington, and Milton. From Lakeshore Rd. to Kerr St. to Main St., skinny-jean rockin’, bicycle-riding (sub)urban bohemians are being spotted on the regular. Here are five places where we’ve regularly seen hipsters avoid eye contact as they silently brood about our lame food scene (when it’s compared to Hamilton — we think it’s 100).
5. Goodness Me! Natural Food Market
Popular U.S. retailers Whole Foods and Anthropologie have made their way to Oakville, making Cornwall Rd. and the downtown stretch waaaay too mainstream for hipsters, who’ll applaud themselves for trekking to Fairview St. for a chance to saunter the aisles looking for super-fine almond flour, clove essential oil, roasted dandelion root, and avocado oil mayo. There, they’ll rejoice over recent blog posts on the store’s site, such as 7 Ways to Enjoy The Benefits of Hemp Seeds, and order Tropical Warrior smoothies because it’s green and there’s no such thing as too much coconut milk. They’ll also take home vegan samosas and pakoras from the hot foods counter.
4. Kerr Village
This edgy location lends serious street cred to suburban dwellers and visitors. They’ll head to Kerr Street Cafe for some avocado toast, then saunter north to peruse the aisles of the Salvation Army. A full workday can be spent thrifting around Halton. An array of uber cool essentials can be found at secondhand shopping stores, from vintage T-shirts to macramé planters. Hipsters will do just about anything ‘for the gram’ and go as far as purchasing a wooden gossip bench for their shiny, gentrified condos. Many hipsters prefer trekking to Hamilton or Mississauga to shop at Talize, where clothing is organized by colour, since it reminds them of rainbow bagels and rainbow grilled cheese sandwiches and rainbow makeup.
Vinyl is an essential component of any bonafide hipster’s arsenal. They’ll straight up express horror at the mere mention of Spotify. This Fourth Line shop offers new and used vinyl, CDs, and cassettes. Those of you with OCD tendencies (I’m guilty) will appreciate the next level organization and cleanliness. Staff are friendly and helpful. They put out 500 vintage records a week, from the Tragically Hip to Kendrick Lamar to Pink Floyd. (Level 5 hipsters will have to buy VHS from Kijiji or Craigslist). They’ve got $1 and $2 bins; don’t try to swipe their Sealtest milk crates. At any rate, I dare you to count how many man buns descend on this gem over the weekend.
2. Farmers’ Markets
Organic, artistan/handmade goods can be found in every legit hipster’s home. Whether it’s a Lions market on the weekend or an afternoon on Main St. in Milton, they’ll get out of their Zipcars with reusable shopping bags and sample kombucha (Cathy’s, of course) and sliced peaches then rave about how large the cauliflower heads are and gush over the selection. Weighed down by jars of honey, beaded bracelets, and free-range anything, they’ll trek home touting the benefits of living so freakin’ close to Beamsville.
1. Bronte Village
Because hot dudes with man buns (often with trendy-looking children on their backs) have to get their stroll on once they’ve delivered bags of dirty, craft-beer stained lumberjack shirts to their parents’ Chartwell Rd. homes. As you can surmise, the classic hipster vernacular includes artisan, craft, organic, and indie … all of which can be found in one part of Oakville: Bronte. They were all about grabbing coffee and fresh meat or cheese from Taste Marketeria (RIP, sniff) and now prefer to fish at all hours of the night while debating between drinks at Plank or Yolanda’s … this gorgeous southwest ‘hood is a must for hipsters in Halton who want to feed their social media followings.
BONUS: We can’t play Burlington like that. Once the outdoor farmers’ markets close in October, hipsters head straight to Burlington’s best-kept grocery secret: Farmer Jack’s on Appleby. Their spinach is the bee’s knees. With fresh, local produce stacked on rectangular bales of hay, there’s no better place to descend upon for your healthy, vegetarian essentials and simultaneously SnapChat your culinary adventures. Hipsters are all over the organic ginger, honey, and charcoal lemonade.
