It’s been a long road for Ellen Watkinson to get her new business going, but the businesswoman believes she has overcome most obstacles and is looking forward to finally opening.
Watkinson is crossing her fingers and hoping that Wildflowers Bistro and Boutique will open Dec. 1.
The business is located in the 108-year-old Slade House at 436 Langdon Crescent. The building has seen many commercial enterprises during the last 30 years, such as a gift shop, a conservatory, a spa, and Cranberry Rose Tea House and Boutique.
Now it’s Watkinson’s turn to add to the house’s history.
“Yeah, definitely excited to get open anyway and get moving with things. Just being here, it’s a beautiful place to be,” she said.
However, to reach this point, Watkinson — the former owner of Ellen’s on Main — first had to overcome some major obstacles.
Watkinson and her business partner were both looking for project ideas when they came up with a bistro and boutique. They searched for a location and found The Slade House, which was in great structural shape. The property owner had already painted the trim, while a few exterior windows needed to be replaced since the home had been vacant for two years.
The women began working in July to clean up the front yard, including digging up the flower beds, which is how they landed on the business name, Watkinson explained. She sent their business licence to city hall, but it was a long wait — the pandemic was blamed — before they learned the application had yet to be reviewed.
City hall then forced the business partners to jump through hoops before they could open, she said. Most obstacles related to meeting the National Building Code, while they were also told they couldn’t use the upstairs due to fire code.
“This house is 1912. It’s about as solid as you can get. There’s two layers of brick here,” Watkinson explained. “The boiler’s been upgraded (and) we’re not cooking with grease. We don’t have any gas appliances. To me, that’s what needs to be talked about with the policymakers, to get people to realize there have to be some concessions for (heritage properties) … .”
City hall wanted other smaller issues addressed, even though changing things would have affected the house’s heritage aspect. Watkinson plans to appeal to the provincial ombudsman since those items are part of the building’s history and she doesn’t believe they should be changed.
The obstacles frustrated Watkinson’s business partner so much that she had a change of heart and moved on.
“When we got our business licence from the city, we knew we were behind the 8-ball … ,” Watkinson said. “It’s understandable that she decided to move on. You can’t wait forever.”
Watkinson had planned to open on Sept. 15 but missed that deadline. She had already installed some commercial equipment but cancelled her product orders since she was unsure whether the business would fly.
However, she is now more optimistic.
Watkinson’s slogan with the boutique is “something old and something new,” which means taking older items and refurbishing them so they are saleable. She currently has Christmas items for sale that she repurposed or created.
Meanwhile, the bistro will offer soups, sandwiches, baking — possibly Cranberry Rose’s scone recipes — and coffees.
While city hall forced Watkinson to board up some windows and build a firewall on the second floor, she still plans to use that level for workshops and small meeting rooms. She also wants to work on the front yard, acquire a liquor licence, provide takeout and curbside pick-up, offer Charcuterie boards with meats, cheeses and fruits, and host small weddings.
“Even during COVID, we still have to live. We have to make sense of life and go on. We can’t just sit in our (homes) … ,” added Watkinson. “Eventually, we’ll flatten the curve and need to get out, and a place like this would be a destination for people to enjoy.”
