Wednesday, September 9, 2015
Fire and Ice is OPEN!
The new coffee shop in town, 'Fire and Ice', is OPEN! I've been watching and waiting for this for several months. Right after our paddle this morning we went and had a pleasant coffee.
This is truly a unique effort to preserve a historic building. It's in the old Markdale Fire Hall, a volunteer fire department base for 84 years, and one of the few old fire halls in this part of Ontario that still has the hose drying tower still standing.
It's a joint venture between the municipality, which owned the building (it was in danger of either collapse or demolition), the private operator of the new coffee shop, and the local Heritage Committee, which brokered the deal. I think it's a great solution to both protect and use, an interesting historic building, right on the main street in Markdale.
You may wonder about 'Fire and Ice'. Fire is natural, both for the coffee (they plan to have their own coffee roastery), and for it being an old fire hall. The 'Ice' refers to Chapman's Ice Cream, the favourite of loyal locals.
The Chapman family started their business here in 1973 'with four employees and 2 trucks'. It's now Canada's largest independently owned ice cream company, marketing from coast to coast. And it's the best ice cream going! And by far the biggest employer in Markdale.
In spite of a disastrous fire in 2009, they have rebuilt a completely new and greatly expanded facility, and they are known as leaders in developing new ice cream flavours, in pollution control, and in providing specialty ice creams for those who need it. They now produce nut-free, gluten free. lactose free and other special varieties of ice cream. So OF COURSE the new coffee shop would also serve Chapman's ice cream!
And I can testify that their coffee is great too! I had a large mug of strong, dark coffee, (the best kind), and would go back immediately and frequently. In fact I may.
The inside of the old fire hall has been done up quite effectively, They have a small stage for live music, a bar, and lots of places to sit. It's a small but rather cavernous room where the old fire engine was parked.
There's a nod to the Beaver Valley's downhill skiing heritage too, with several interesting bits of the decor. I actually have a pair of these giant old wooden skiis, which belonged to my mother - who was, believe it or not, a local ski jumping champion in Owen Sound in the 1930's!
And they also serve food, which means you can come for lunch. Don't think I got the focus perfect on this one, but the important point is the food. If you're local, patronize this place as I will; we need to support our local businesses if they're going to survive. Good luck to the new 'Fire and Ice'.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
While we did Starbucks on our trip, we did do local coffee shops about half the time, too. Lots of good coffee and food.
ReplyDeleteThe place looks so great!! That's so wonderful that instead of building something new, they used something that had history! I love that. And yes - support local business!! I love my Tim Horton's but I also try to make sure I drop by our local little cafe often too. Which isn't that hard since they make the most amazing scones!
ReplyDeleteI have Chapman's in my freezer right now!!! :)
I love to see old buildings rehabilitated for new purposes. We have a chain of breweries here in the PNW (McMenamins) that reuse old buildings. They've converted an old county poorhouse, an old grade school, and even a former Catholic school into very charming brewpubs.
ReplyDeleteLooks so good, and if I was there, the coffee would definitely be on my list for the day.
ReplyDeletekind of an unusual name for such a place, sounds like somewhere you'd go to party, however by the looks of it if I lived there if they made good coffee I'd be there regularly :-)
ReplyDeleteI would go to this place in a heartbeat! Unfortunately it's a bit of a trek. I enjoy the local ice cream around here, too: Edaleen Dairy and Mallards ice cream. I love good coffee, too. Interesting little spot. You've given me an idea for a post as well. :-)
ReplyDeleteSeems like a fine establishment indeed. Greetings!
ReplyDeleteAn awesome place for coffee, mixing the new with the old, and the building is preserved.
ReplyDeleteIt is quite a structure!
ReplyDeleteWhat a great old building and a wonderful idea. I'd favor the ICE part. : )
ReplyDeleteGood to see the fire station will be standing for a long time!
ReplyDeleteNice looking place -- and good to know that a historic building is being reused.
ReplyDeleteHow wonderful that an old building was saved! Looks like an interesting place:)
ReplyDeleteI'm not a coffee drinker but I sure do love ice cream. Chapman's is hard to find in our area but I've heard it's really good ice cream. The old fire hall has a lot of character and would be a nice spot to visit for coffee or ice cream or both. Enjoy.
ReplyDeleteA good coffee shop is a special thing in my book. This one's a treasure. Fascinated with that hose-drying tower. My father, from perhaps 1940's to mid 1960's was part of our village volunteer fire department (Quebec). Eventually, a new firehall was built and there was a fancy truck too.. but no hose-drying tower :)
ReplyDeleteA good coffee shop is a special thing in my book. This one's a treasure. Fascinated with that hose-drying tower. My father, from perhaps 1940's to mid 1960's was part of our village volunteer fire department (Quebec). Eventually, a new firehall was built and there was a fancy truck too.. but no hose-drying tower :)
ReplyDelete