With its wide main street, historic Victorian architecture, and friendly shop owners, downtown Lindsay is a charming and vibrant day trip destination. And did we mention the free parking?
When you head to downtown Lindsay, we recommend building these two businesses into your itinerary: Kent Bookstore, an independent bookstore with over 5 million titles available, and Brittany n’ Bros, a fashion and shoe boutique run by a mother and her daughter.
Kent Bookstore offers millions of good reads from a historic Lindsay location
Kent Bookstore owner Cheri Hogg has created a book lover's haven in her downtown Lindsay shop. (Photo: Eva Fisher)
Kent Bookstore is located in a historic building at 15 William St., longtime home of the printed word. (Photo: Eva Fisher)
The store has both new and used books, and their online website offers a selection of 5 million titles. (Photo: Eva Fisher)
Kent Bookstore also carries a wide variety of children's books. Cheri draws inspiration from her grandchildren. (Photo: Eva Fisher)
Kent Bookstore, located in a historic downtown Lindsay building, is an independent bookstore with a modern advantage. The cozy shop also has an impressive online presence. The store carries a wide selection of new and used books, as well as calendars, journals, greeting cards, and bookmarks.
A book lover’s sanctuary
With its hardwood floors and tin ceilings, Kent Bookstore has a sense of history as soon as you walk in the door. In fact, the building was home to the Lindsay Post for 100 years. Cheri points out that Kent Bookstore carries on a tradition at 15 William Street. “We’ve kept the printed word in the building.”
The shelves are full of books carefully selected by Cheri and longtime staffer Lisa Chomko. “We do a lot of research. We look to see what’s happening in the book world through different sets of reviews, our sales reps and our customers.” Cheri and her staff know the books, so they can make recommendations.
The book shop has a cozy, easy atmosphere. Cheri is rarely seen without her coffee cup in hand, and in the corner you’ll find coffee by ethical local coffee roaster Kyoto coffee. It’s the sort of atmosphere that you can only find in an independent bookstore. Cheri loves coming to work every day. “I like the people, the conversations, talking about the books. It’s a really nice atmosphere. This is my sanctuary.”
Bringing independent books online
For those who prefer the sanctuary of their own home, Kent Bookstore also has an extensive selection of books online. With over five million books available at www.kentbooks.ca, you can browse an incredible variety of titles, then pick them up at the bookstore. This includes a broad selection of used books. For these titles Kent Bookstore offers an ongoing deal: when you buy three you get the fourth book free. They also offer store credit in exchange for customer trade ins.
Local authors
Many local authors are represented at Kent Bookstore, including hard-to-find self-published titles. Cheri sees many authors come through her doors. “A lot of the local authors are self published, so they need to do the legwork to get their books into stores.”
The store has a local section, but Cheri will also feature these books by genre. “We have a lot of local authors. We feature them so that they’re seen.”
Kent Bookstore is located at 15 William Street in Lindsay. You can also visit them online at www.kentbooks.ca, find them on Facebook, or reach them by phone at 705-328-1600.
Brittany n’ Bros brings gorgeous footwear and Canadian and European fashion to the Kawarthas
Brittany Thompson, manager of the Lindsay location, wears Lola jeans, a V. Fraas scarf, a Fig sweater, Blundstone boots, and recycled legwarmers by 3r Clothing Company. (Photo: Eva Fisher)
These are just some of the cozy Sorel boots available at Brittany n' Bros. Also featured is a poncho made from recycled sweaters by 3r Clothing Company, Nora jewelry and Au Clair gloves. (Photo: Eva Fisher)
Brittany n' Bros Lindsay shop carries a variety of Canadian and European fashions. They also provide beautiful high-quality footwear, including these fabulous studded brown leather boots. (Photo: Brittany n' Bros)
Brittany n' Bros, a boutique shop located on Kent Street in downtown Lindsay, features shoes, clothing, and accessories. It's run by mother-daughter team Tammy and Brittany Thompson. (Photo: Eva Fisher)
Brittany n’ Bros has become an important name in fashion in central Ontario. With stores in Lindsay, Port Perry, and Cobourg, owner Tammy Thompson Letham offers a stylish selection of shoes, clothing and accessories that also offer comfort and durability.
“We want to make people look good and feel good about themselves,” Tammy says. “I get excited about that.”
The store began as a shoe shop, but since then has expanded to become a fashion boutique as well.
Who is Brittany?
The first Brittany n’ Bros store opened its doors in Lindsay in August of 1998. Tammy chose a name with a personal connection.
“I named it after my children, my daughter Brittany and my two boys, Christopher and Aaron.” Tammy’s daughter Brittany started working in the store after school and on weekends when it first opened. Now, after completing a business diploma at Fleming College, she manages the Lindsay location.
Footwear and fashion
As you walk into the Lindsay store, you are met with a striking selection of footwear: this season there is a selection of gorgeous leather boots, dress shoes, snow boots and slippers. There is a wide selection of Blundstone boots, a popular pick with their customers.
The Brittany n’ Bros team strives to find clothing that looks and feels good. Tammy says that they are always looking for lines “geared to comfort and fashion.”
Canadian companies include Sympli, a versatile line than can be worn for casual or dressy occasions, and Lola Jeans, a denim line known for its comfortable stretch.
Tammy often features less well known designers, like 3r Clothing Company, a Toronto-based company that makes legwarmers, skirts and ponchos from recycled sweaters.
The stores also carry a line with the Brittany n’ Bros label on it. For this, Tammy and her team get creative control.
“We pick our body shapes, fabrics and colours. It’s a line that we’re excited about.”
A growing bootprint
Brittany n’ Bros continues to grow, bringing their stylish clothing and footwear to more and more women.
Their Port Perry store moved to a new space more than triple to size of the old store in October.
Their Cobourg store changed location from a 1000 square foot store to 2000 square feet in April.
Tammy encourages you to visit more than one location. “They will carry some of the same lines, but different stores will have different products. Take a road trip.”
Brittany n’ Bros Lindsay location is at 109 Kent Street West in Lindsay. You can find them online at www.brittanyandbros.com and on Facebook and Twitter.
