Unique Treasures Abound

A tourist, standing at the corner of Red River and Cumberland in Thunder Bay, asks a resident, “Where is your downtown?”

“You’re in it,” comes the reply to the surprised tourist, who may or may not be aware that Thunder Bay is made up of the two former cities of Port Arthur and Fort William that amalgamated in 1970.

Thunder Bay’s downtown North Core or the Waterfront District (still referred to by many locals as Port Arthur) is redeveloping. With the opening of a couple happening gastro-pubs and more restaurants in the works, the shopping is also improving with local entrepreneurs embracing retail opportunities. Some of the shops have been long residing stalwarts, where the owners are very pleased to see more walk-by traffic.

More people are checking out the shops in the Waterfront District including visitors to city.  One owner was happy when a group of a hundred Swedes from one of number of cruise ship visits to the city turned up to buy his comics. Buildings are selling and the new landlords have plans in the works. A couple shop owners compare Port Arthur to the newly popular Bay/Algoma area of Thunder Bay. This shows how a little competition and envy can be beneficial.

Here are shops you will want to check out in Thunder Bay’s Waterfront District. 

Hill City Comics and Cards
26 Court Street South

Comic book artists are talented beyond belief. Each comic, toy, graphic novel, and poster in this shop screams with the talent of artists with amazing drawing and sculpting skills. With over a hundred thousand items to sell and all of them bursting with colour, muscle, square jaws and nubile women, it’s a bit overwhelming. Hill City Comics may not be huge, but it’s packed.

The owner, Robert Quinn, has a memory and archival relish for the various comic histories. With business savvy and uncanny customer and product knowledge he has kept operating for years, even through the few lean years. He’s very happy for the recent turnaround, smiling at his prospects for the future.
    
Robert is an avid fan of the Free Comic Book Day event. May 1st, all around the world, over 2,500 comic book stores gave out 3.5 million free comic books. Six to ten years old lined the sidewalk outside his shop waiting get up to three copies when Hill City gave out over 3,000 comic books to 1,000 young people who stormed into the shop. This is done to encourage reading, and to get kids to try out comic books. Robert sees more kids that day than any other time. He is very encouraged that downtown Port Arthur is seeing more and more street traffic.  

Perfect Fit Lingerie
16 Court Street South
   
With wonderful personalized service women are in for a fitting that could change their lives. Specializing in bra fitting from size A cups to double J cups and brand sizes from 30 to 48, some women get fitted perfectly for the first time.

Proprietor Suzan Cooper Rochon tells a story about one customer who, because it was so uncomfortable, always took her bra off as soon as she returned home. After being properly fitted it wasn’t until she was about to climb into bed that she discovered she hadn’t removed her bra. First time, Suzan was told.
  
Perfect Fit also carries luxurious silk sleep-ware, cotton sleep-ware, European bras, nursing bras, sports bras, cup size swim-ware, and shape-wear, including Spanx. In Thunder Bay they are the exclusive shop for Sympli Clothing, a line made in Canada.
    
As knowledgeable fitters, the staff goes out of their way to make women feel comfortable. They offer little extras like free coffee and a place to relax, by a fireplace. 
 
The Loop 
2 Court Street South

    
The Loop is a funky and fun shop with a large showroom, carrying mostly women’s clothing, but the men’s clothing is highly unique, which can’t be found in a big box store.
    
The Loop, a partnership of Beth DeProphetis and Allen Tocheri, specializes in Canadian designers where clothes are made in Canada and a few in the United States. Canadian brand names include Yoga Jeans, Broken Doll Clothing, Skinny Sweats, Gentle Fawn, and Sitka. With their brand clothes they sell “one size range” so you won’t be seeing a similar shirt worn by someone else.
    
The Loop also sells scarves, shirts, jackets, watches and locally made jewelry where The Loop partners with local jewelry designers and quality consignment shops. They are also the only place in town selling unique throwing discs (like Frisbees). You can take a disc to Boulevard Lake and try out their Frisbee Golf Course.

Great Shopping in Thunder Bay!

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