I moved to Guelph from Bolton, Ontario in July of 2014. I loved this new city – and begin exploring all off the options available. Restaurants and services that were now at my fingertips. I find it amusing at times when I hear local Guelph residents state that they stay within their area of Guelph. For example – those who live on the south end of Guelph, frequently find going to the North end – a long journey and vice versa. Living in Bolton (Caledon), means either a 40 minute drive to Brampton, or Newmarket, or a 30 minute drive to Orangeville, or 20 minutes to Woodbridge. Moving to Guelph, my husband and I were thrilled that everything we wanted was on average 10 minutes, no matter where the service was located in Guelph! AMAZING!
While we have managed to substitute most of our services with Guelph businesses, the one place I have not been able to replace is Garden Foods. When you live in Bolton, you really have NO IDEA just how amazing this place is. It just becomes your reality.
These images below are dated April 1, 2016.
Guelph has Marketfresh, and certainly while I can appreciate the comparison – Garden Foods beats Marketfresh on multiple points. The most important being price, and variety. Garden Foods also has a full butcher counter where you can purchase a full pork leg for under 30 dollars, and ask the counter staff to open up the fast fry steaks to run through the tenderizer machine and repackage at no additional cost. There is also a prepared foods section, that offers meals that your grandmother would make. The pasta aisle has so many options for spelt, kamut, rice and corn… all without inflating the prices.
The healthy, organic, options for almost every dietary need are all at regular prices, and and stocked alongside unique european products. The deli counter offers the most amazing cheeses, and meats all waiting to be sliced and served up any way you want.
St Jacobs is also comparable, and we enjoy it tremendously over the summer and fall months, however winter and early spring.. the driver to Bolton is worth it. Try it and you will see.