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Image of an invoice from A. Sutherland Grocery on Holland Street. The invoice is dated June 12th, 1926 and to Hazel Campbell. Alexander Sutherland also operated a bakery on Simcoe Road. His wife, Elizabeth was the sister of Bessie Campbell (wife of William Campbell).

"Gordon Compton, who owns the Bradford IGA, was born in London, Ontario, where his father ran the local A and P store. Gord's family moved around quite a bit from the time he was born in 1933, until they settled in Bradford. His father owned the old IGA store, now the site of 'Flowers by Tina.' After graduating from high school, Gord studied for a year at the School of Mines in Haileybury, Ontario, but gave up his studies and returned to help out in the family business when his father became ill. He eventually took over the business and saw IGA move into its present home in 1966."

The Village Inn is located at 2 Holland St. East (on the corner of Holland and Simcoe Streets). There had been a hotel located at this site before the great fire of 1871. The building in this photo (1995) was built in 1920 in the Ontario Vernacular style. The original two-storey, cement building contained living quarters upstairs. One of the early inhabitants was Dave Watson, a farmer from the Scotch Settlement. He was one of the first to work with Professor Day in bringing about the drainage of the Holland Marsh. The ground floor was a grocery store in the early 1930’s (or before it was bought by Jim Gray and his wife). It was separated by a central entrance downstairs.
Ken Morris bought the building around 1933 or 1934. Renovations were done by Art and Len Saint in 1937. The building was converted into the English Tudor-style hotel currently known as “The Village Inn”. A one-storey addition was added later (on the east side of the building) to contain a restaurant and ladies’ room. Under Jack Pong’s ownership, the addition became a Chinese restaurant. Additions were built later at the rear. Frank Sakowski ran the Inn for a while before it was sold to Bill Callum and Mr. Grant.
The two-storey building has a wide, rectangular plan with an asymmetrical organization and a typical ‘Main Street’, storefront façade located at the street line. It is characterized by a high, flat, ‘boomtown’ façade and cornice with brick dentils. The prominent, corner entrance door is oriented diagonally toward the street intersection. Existing door and storefronts are not original. The upper-floor pairs of windows suggest some original Italianate styling. The windows are not original on either level. At the time of the 2000 inventory, the building had masonry construction, stucco and wood siding, and a built-up, tar and gravel roof. It notes that the modest, commercial building is in fair condition with no original details visible. (1, 2, 3)

This two-storey, solid-brick building is located on the north side at 37 Holland St. West (on the corner of Holland and Moore Streets). It has been the site of several businesses, including Western Tire, Municipal Savings and Loan, and a grocery store. Originally, it was the Kilkenny Furniture Store. Frank Kilkenny, his father, and Keith lived here. The front part of the building was a furniture display and show room. There were stairs on the west side leading up to the show room. It was later turned into a funeral parlor when funerals ceased to be held in the deceased’s home. In the early 1930’s, Len and Art Saint built an addition on the back. The back part was used as an embalming room and for casket storage. It had two car bays. There was an elevator in the back part that provided access to the second floor. After Frank died, Keith remained an undertaker for only a short time. He preferred to work with refrigerators, furniture, freezers and radios. There was an office off Lovers Lane (Moore St.) that later became the location of Keith’s radio repair shop. Tom Kilkenny, an undertaker and furniture maker, later ran his business here. He employed a number of men. Behind the brick building was a two-storey, frame building used for storing cutters, sleighs, furniture, and the other things used in the business. There was also a small garden. Neal Lathangue eventually took over the funeral business. (1, 2)

Description : For the first three months that the Compton's Garden Market IGA was open, it was both the newest and the oldest IGA store in Canada. The IGA located at the corner of Melbourne Drive and Holland Street West in Bradford, is still the oldest store in the country, celebrating 56 years of customer service this summer. Not only that, but the IGA is still owned by the Compton family - the third generation of Comptons - and that is something that makes Dave and Karen Compton proud. The original store, opened in 1944, was located at 12 Holland Street West; from 1969 to 1983, the store was on John Street West; and from 1983 to just last year, it was located in the Holland Square Plaza. When David Compton had the opportunity to follow in his father's and grandfather's footsteps, and build a new facility, he jumped at the challenge, "It was almost a test: "Show us what you've learned." I think I put everything that I learned into the building of the store." For about 10 years, he had kept notes on what worked and what didn't - and the result is the "Market Garden", with its ample parking, high ceilings, wide aisles and generous entry-way, now being used as a model for other new IGA stores. The store will be marking its 56th anniversary with a 2 week celebration.

John Zampaloni's store was located at the corner of Colborne Street and Holland Street East.

If you have any additional information about this photo or its contents please contact the library at 905-775-3328.

Caption under photograph: "Mr. Wm. Compton and son, Gordon, in front of their fine new I.G.A. Food Market, which opens for business next Wednesday, August 17."
Related article contains description of the Compton business.

Article contains description of the Compton business.

An announcement of the death of Bradford businessman and owner of Sutherland’s Grocery, Alexander Sutherland on July 24th, 1931. Appeared in the July 29th, 1931 issue of the Bradford Witness.