Posted by Cathy Bouchard in greengrocers, shops on June 2, 2007 at 3:03 pm

Organics On Bloor
468 Bloor Street West
416-538-1333

As a nutritionist, I am always trying to find great places to shop and to tell my clients about. My criteria isn’t too strict really, I just demand simple things like local suppliers, organic options, reasonable prices and also it's nice if it is run by someone with a conscience. Organics On Bloor is not only a great place to find local, organic produce and other items but it’s a place with a great deal of integrity. It also started with a great love story.

Owner Monica Walker originally hails from the UK and spent many years working in marketing for a large corporation. Five years ago, she left her corporate life behind and came to Canada. This is where the love story part comes in - she says she moved to Canada after meeting the love of her life on a trip around the world. Arriving here, she and her new husband Floyd were dissatisfied with the level of produce available at grocery stores. According to Monica, “When I arrived here in Canada, I could not taste the food. Tomatoes tasted of nothing, peppers hmm, need I go on? When I found out the levels of pesticides used, my mind was made up.”

They opened Organics On Bloor with the mandate of sourcing great-tasting food that is grown and made as locally as possible, selling as many certified organic items as they can while keeping prices low. Monica attributes her love for food to her time in Paris and because of this she wanted the store to have a Parisian flavour. When entering Organics On Bloor, the customer can see and feel the European market influence. Signs hang from the ceiling, the produce looks and smells amazing, dried fruit and fresh bread is abundant. According to Monica, they only buy non-GMO and fair-trade items, “Sometimes we don’t have the largest range of (for example) soy milk but will have the Canadian brand at the same or better [price] than the other health food stores and even sometimes the big names like Dominion or Loblaws.”

It’s that selection process that makes this shop better than many other organic grocery stores. The support for local companies is apparent. You can find items from vendors like New Moon Kitchen, Ruth’s Hemp Foods, Alternative Grounds and Beretta Farms. In the dairy case, great companies are always in stock like Pinehedge yogurt and kefir and Ryza unsweetened rice milk in large containers (a great find).

The people that shop at Organics On Bloor are loyal and that is more than likely due to the produce selection. Organics On Bloor boast of themselves as being "a local farmers market in the city" - it’s important to keep quality high and price low to compete with the growing number of actual organic farmers markets in the city. They have also recently started a box delivery service. The current range is to The Annex, Bloor West and The Beach. In an attempt to compete with other local organic delivery services, the rates are definitely competitive.

Monica attributes the success of the store to all the help she’s received from her staff and most importantly her husband Floyd (who now stays home with their new baby, Adam). Her passion for the store and what she does is evident, and heck – who doesn’t like a good love story?