Howdy, y’all.

It’s been a minute.

A lot has happened.

Not much has changed.

But we DO have some news about:

1. Hours: Closed for the Civic Holiday Monday, August 3rd
2. Eat Ontario: Bounty bordering on obscenity is upon us
3. Bottle Drive: August 12th: Proceeds go to St. Clair Supports the Stop
4. Plastic Bags: Tired | Reusable Bags: Wired

1. We’re taking a much needed and well-deserved day-off on Monday

Some of us will watch the Raptors play the Heat at 1:30PM. Or do nothing. Some of us will definitely do nothing. Some hop on social media and wonder where the day went. Whatever, please plan ahead because we won’t be here.

2. Ontario bounty in full effect:

• We’re talking veggies: Heirloom & field tomatoes🍅, peppers🌶, collards, kale🥬, swiss chard, beets, lettuce, beans, eggplants🍆, zucchini, patty pans, corn, bunch carrot🥕, green onions, bunch radishes, celery, dandelion, broccoli🥦, cauliflower and potatoes🥔–it’s all happening!
• Fruit more you’re thing?: How do fresh Ontario peaches🍑, nectarines, yellow plums, strawberries🍓, apricots, cherries🍒, blueberries, wild-blueberries (the kind you don’t bring home to mother), raspberries, sugar baby melon, watermelon🍉, and cantaloupe sound🍈?

3. Another Bottle Drive: August 12th

Please bring items for the Bottle Drive to the designated area outside at the front of the store.

4. Plastic bag news

• Please don’t use your bag or cart for shopping, use a traditional shopping car🛒 instead. (Shopping carts help maintain physical distancing, among other benefits)
• Please expect to do your own bagging (Sorry!)

Thanks. Please stay safe. And see you in the aisles.

It looks like masks will be a thing for a bit 😔.

So on Monday, July 13th, we’re going to start selling the disposable masks (that we’ve been giving away for free since May 14th) for $1.00 and give the proceeds to St. Clair Supports The Stop!

Led by local business Cocoa Latte, the program raises money for St. Clair chefs and stores who prepare hundreds of healthy, wholesome takeout meals for The Stop’s Wychwood Open Doors— a drop-in centre that works with neighbours experiencing issues like homelessness.

It’s a win/win/win. That’s three wins. Count ’em:

1. Protect others with a mask
2. Support local businesses
3. Help neighbours most deeply impacted by COVID-19

Dear folks, 

It’s time for an update. Today we’ll cover:

• Canada Day Hours (Spoiler alert: Closed)
• New Store + Garden Centre Hours 
• Masks 

Canada Day Hours

We’ll be closed for some much-needed rest tomorrow. We hope you get a break too!

New Hours

Beginning Thursday, July 2nd:

• The grocery store will stay open an hour later, to 7 pm.
• The garden centre will drop our early dedicated hour now that we’re well into the season and the line has disappeared. Come by between 9-6 pm.  

Masks 😷

Boy, has this topic blown up.

We’d like to publicly thank the staunch anti-maskers who have shared their perspective with us so patiently over the last few weeks. There aren’t many of you, but you’re a dedicated bunch. We’re sorry we haven’t been able to accommodate you, we wish you well, and we hope to see you again when the pandemic is under control. 

We’ll need to continue to mandate masks for the next while on top of our social distancing and disinfection efforts. Thanks for your continued patience, support, and of course, patronage. 

If you want to do some mask reading, here are a few articles:

• Toronto city council approved a bylaw that makes face coverings mandatory in indoor publicly-accessible spaces. 
• Here are the city’s recommendations on the use of masks.
• A bit about The Dudes Who Won’t Wear Masks from the Atlantic.
• A Science Experiment covered by Fast Company

Thanks, and see you all either online or in the aisles.